Golden State Equity Partners Reduces Stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Golden State Equity Partners lessened its position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 6.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 575 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 40 shares during the quarter. Golden State Equity Partners’ holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $304,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of NOC. Diversify Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 1st quarter worth approximately $870,000. Norden Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 1st quarter worth $778,000. Aviso Wealth Management grew its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 110.7% during the 2nd quarter. Aviso Wealth Management now owns 1,896 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $827,000 after acquiring an additional 996 shares during the period. Susquehanna International Securities Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 2nd quarter worth $1,133,000. Finally, State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System raised its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 9.8% in the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 160,328 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $74,027,000 after purchasing an additional 14,275 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

NYSE NOC opened at $509.02 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.97. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1-year low of $418.60 and a 1-year high of $555.57. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $523.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $482.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $74.16 billion, a PE ratio of 31.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.34.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.07 by $0.93. The firm had revenue of $10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.18 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.79% and a return on equity of 26.57%. Northrop Grumman’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $6.18 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were issued a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is 51.05%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 12th. TD Cowen raised shares of Northrop Grumman to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Susquehanna upped their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $560.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $509.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $521.00 to $587.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $550.56.

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.