Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) Upgraded by The Goldman Sachs Group to Neutral Rating

The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) from a sell rating to a neutral rating in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have $521.00 price target on the aerospace company's stock, up from their prior price target of $424.00.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised Northrop Grumman from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $500.00 to $575.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Northrop Grumman from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Susquehanna lowered their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $625.00 to $557.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $500.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $545.59.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 1.8 %

NOC stock traded up $9.57 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $538.93. The stock had a trading volume of 663,267 shares, compared to its average volume of 863,260. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. Northrop Grumman has a twelve month low of $418.60 and a twelve month high of $555.57. The firm has a market cap of $77.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.02, a PEG ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.20. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $484.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $491.76.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.27 by $0.12. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.24% and a net margin of 10.17%. As a group, research analysts expect that Northrop Grumman will post 28.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $2.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.53%. Northrop Grumman's payout ratio is currently 29.08%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 464 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.75, for a total value of $213,788.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 245 shares of the company's stock, valued at $112,883.75. This represents a 65.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $475.65, for a total transaction of $1,783,687.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 212,852 shares of the company's stock, valued at $101,243,053.80. This trade represents a 1.73 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 4,505 shares of company stock worth $2,127,182. Insiders own 0.23% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Northrop Grumman by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,677,781 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $5,949,556,000 after purchasing an additional 56,807 shares during the period. Capital International Investors lifted its position 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 acquiring an additional 461,307 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,164,700 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,954,452,000 after acquiring an additional 23,808 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.7% during the fourth 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 position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,807,223 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,317,402,000 after purchasing an additional 109,308 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company's stock.

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.