Sepio Capital LP Sells 890 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Sepio Capital LP lessened its position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 12.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,243 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 890 shares during the quarter. Sepio Capital LP’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $2,722,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of NOC. Optimum Investment Advisors grew its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 241.2% in the second quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 58 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman during the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Northrop Grumman by 245.5% during the 2nd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 76 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the first quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Riverview Trust Co acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the first quarter worth about $47,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $695,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 4,634 shares in the company, valued at $2,317,000. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,389 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $477.56, for a total value of $663,330.84. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 6,755 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,225,917.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of the 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 4,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,317,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 2,846 shares of company stock valued at $1,393,028. 0.22% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 0.5 %

Northrop Grumman stock opened at $526.72 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $77.95 billion, a PE ratio of 36.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.34. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12 month low of $414.56 and a 12 month high of $534.61. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $505.21 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $472.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03.

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

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were paid a $2.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.56%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is presently 57.62%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on NOC shares. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $474.00 to $575.00 in a report on Monday, July 29th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. TD Cowen raised their target price on Northrop Grumman from $440.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $593.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $523.20.

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.