Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) Price Target Cut to $505.00 by Analysts at Wells Fargo & Company

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) had its price objective decreased by Wells Fargo & Company from $565.00 to $505.00 in a research note released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the aerospace company’s stock.

NOC has been the topic of several other research reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Susquehanna raised their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $560.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Alembic Global Advisors downgraded Northrop Grumman from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $560.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $546.81.

Northrop Grumman Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of Northrop Grumman stock opened at $480.00 on Wednesday. Northrop Grumman has a 12-month low of $418.60 and a 12-month high of $555.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $69.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.83, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $507.90 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $487.88.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.07 by $0.93. The company had revenue of $10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.18 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.57% and a net margin of 5.79%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $6.18 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Northrop Grumman will post 25.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the aerospace company to purchase up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a dividend of $2.06 per share. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.72%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is presently 51.05%.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total transaction of $616,067.08. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $286,183.41. This represents a 68.28 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders sold 1,255 shares of company stock valued at $666,461 over the last ninety days. 0.22% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Northrop Grumman

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,140,892 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,186,681,000 after acquiring an additional 17,596 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 0.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,003,360 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,581,644,000 after purchasing an additional 18,791 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 6.2% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,426,270 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,315,729,000 after purchasing an additional 141,816 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 16.0% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,087,913 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $474,276,000 after buying an additional 150,367 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 809,445 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $427,444,000 after buying an additional 3,211 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.