Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) Hits New 52-Week High at $536.61

Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)’s share price reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $536.61 and last traded at $535.88, with a volume of 30035 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $528.07.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NOC has been the subject of several research reports. StockNews.com raised Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 12th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $440.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $530.00 to $500.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. BTIG Research began coverage on Northrop Grumman in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. They set a “buy” rating and a $565.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Northrop Grumman from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. One research 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, Northrop Grumman presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $523.20.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average of $507.01 and a 200 day moving average of $472.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $80.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.93 by $0.43. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.61% and a return on equity of 25.44%. The business had revenue of $10.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.02 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $5.34 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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 of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.52%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.62%.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of the business’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 transaction 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,389 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $3,225,917.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 2,846 shares of company stock worth $1,393,028 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Northrop Grumman

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Capital International Investors grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 5.6% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 11,747,646 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $5,623,128,000 after acquiring an additional 621,636 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1,915.9% in the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 438,521 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $191,173,000 after purchasing an additional 416,768 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 4.8% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,634,043 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,218,132,000 after purchasing an additional 211,459 shares in the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the 2nd quarter worth $90,177,000. Finally, Global Assets Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman in the 1st quarter worth $83,182,000. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.