Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) Director Sells $16,720.11 in Stock

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

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NOC traded up $0.67 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $514.54. 522,955 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 877,722. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $488.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $485.25. The firm has a market cap of $74.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.31, a PEG ratio of 5.55 and a beta of 0.15. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a twelve month low of $424.66 and a twelve month 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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $6.33 by ($0.27). The business had revenue of $9.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.07 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 25.46% and a net margin of 9.19%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd were given a dividend of $2.31 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 2nd. This is an increase from Northrop Grumman's previous quarterly dividend of $2.06. This represents a $9.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.80%. Northrop Grumman's payout ratio is currently 36.46%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NOC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $580.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Wall Street Zen lowered Northrop Grumman from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $525.00 price objective on Northrop Grumman and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "hold" rating and issued a $542.00 price objective (down from $580.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Susquehanna decreased their target price on Northrop Grumman from $557.00 to $540.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $550.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Northrop Grumman

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,266,301 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $6,792,479,000 after purchasing an additional 588,520 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 8,239,434 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $3,866,133,000 after purchasing an additional 461,307 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 23.4% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,139,333 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $2,631,390,000 after purchasing an additional 974,633 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,025,263 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,417,850,000 after purchasing an additional 21,903 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,807,223 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,317,402,000 after purchasing an additional 109,308 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Northrop Grumman

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.