Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Shares Sold by Xponance Inc.

Xponance Inc. lowered its position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 5.9% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 18,369 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 1,156 shares during the quarter. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $8,008,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in NOC. Accretive Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in Northrop Grumman by 10.5% in the 4th quarter. Accretive Wealth Partners LLC now owns 528 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $247,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 21.9% during the 4th quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 557 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $241,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 20,185 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $9,449,000 after acquiring an additional 230 shares in the last quarter. 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter worth approximately $882,000. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 64.9% during the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 9,538 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $4,465,000 after acquiring an additional 3,753 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,389 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $477.56, for a total value of $663,330.84. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 6,755 shares in the company, valued at $3,225,917.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $695,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 4,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,317,000. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,389 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $477.56, for a total transaction of $663,330.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 6,755 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,225,917.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 2,846 shares of company stock valued at $1,393,028 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of NOC stock opened at $533.20 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.11. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $498.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $470.38. Northrop Grumman Co. has a one year low of $414.56 and a one year high of $534.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $78.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.29, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.34.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.93 by $0.43. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.61% and a return on equity of 25.44%. The firm had revenue of $10.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.02 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $5.34 earnings per share. Northrop Grumman’s revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were issued a $2.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.55%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is currently 57.62%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on NOC shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $467.00 to $509.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. UBS Group upped their target price on Northrop Grumman from $593.00 to $605.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Barclays increased their price target on Northrop Grumman from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on Northrop Grumman from $530.00 to $500.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Northrop Grumman from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $523.20.

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.