Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) Director Mark A. Welsh III Sells 33 Shares

Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) Director Mark A. Welsh III sold 33 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction on Monday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $506.67, for a total transaction of $16,720.11. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 4,363 shares in the company, valued at $2,210,601.21. The trade was a 0.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of NOC stock traded up $3.24 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $511.18. 79,857 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 876,303. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.16, a PEG ratio of 5.52 and a beta of 0.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.95. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $488.32 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $484.93. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 52 week low of $422.69 and a 52 week high of $555.57.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The aerospace company reported $6.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $6.33 by ($0.27). Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 25.46% and a net margin of 9.19%. The business had revenue of $9.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.07 billion. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd were paid a $2.31 dividend. This is a boost from Northrop Grumman's previous quarterly dividend of $2.06. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $9.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.81%. Northrop Grumman's payout ratio is 36.46%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on NOC. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "hold" rating and issued a $542.00 price objective (down previously from $580.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Tuesday. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $600.00 to $550.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $580.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $525.00 price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $575.00 to $550.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $550.00.

Institutional Trading of Northrop Grumman

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. IMA Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. Saudi Central Bank acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Bellwether Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company's stock.

Northrop Grumman Company Profile

Northrop Grumman Corporation operates as an aerospace and defense technology company in the United States, Asia/Pacific, Europe, and internationally. The company's Aeronautics Systems segment designs, develops, manufactures, integrates, and sustains aircraft systems. This segment also offers unmanned autonomous aircraft systems, including high-altitude long-endurance strategic ISR systems and vertical take-off and landing tactical ISR systems; and strategic long-range strike aircraft, tactical fighter and air dominance aircraft, and airborne battle management and command and control systems.