Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) Upgraded by Alembic Global Advisors to "Overweight"

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) was upgraded by Alembic Global Advisors from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating in a research note issued on Monday, Marketbeat reports. The firm presently has a $532.00 target price on the aerospace company's stock. Alembic Global Advisors' price target points to a potential upside of 12.96% from the company's previous close.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on NOC. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $450.00 price objective (down previously from $515.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Friday, January 26th. TheStreet lowered Northrop Grumman from a "b+" rating to a "c+" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Susquehanna decreased their price target on Northrop Grumman from $560.00 to $540.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 26th. StockNews.com downgraded Northrop Grumman from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $505.00 to $475.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $497.23.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

NYSE NOC traded up $8.40 on Monday, hitting $470.98. The company had a trading volume of 1,003,136 shares, compared to its average volume of 991,342. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The company has a market capitalization of $69.80 billion, a PE ratio of 34.55, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.35. Northrop Grumman has a 12-month low of $414.56 and a 12-month high of $496.89. The company's fifty day moving average price is $459.71 and its 200-day moving average price is $464.77.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.80 by $0.47. The company had revenue of $10.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.43 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 23.07% and a net margin of 5.23%. Northrop Grumman's revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $7.50 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Northrop Grumman will post 24.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 1,273 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.37, for a total transaction of $573,321.01. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,735 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,231,761.95. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 210 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $454.68, for a total transaction of $95,482.80. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,127 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,421,784.36. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 1,273 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.37, for a total transaction of $573,321.01. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 2,735 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,231,761.95. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 3,149 shares of company stock worth $1,421,147. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NOC. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter worth approximately $283,114,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in Northrop Grumman by 74.7% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,174,556 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $517,028,000 after buying an additional 502,060 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 10.1% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,488,412 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,975,754,000 after acquiring an additional 410,736 shares during the last quarter. London Co. of Virginia purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the third quarter valued at $165,786,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 29.2% during the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,605,679 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $706,804,000 after acquiring an additional 362,515 shares during the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.