Axa S.A. Sells 606 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Axa S.A. reduced its stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 36.6% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,049 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 606 shares during the period. Axa S.A.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $457,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. NBW Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. NBW Capital LLC now owns 8,779 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $3,827,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Kingfisher Capital LLC grew its stake in Northrop Grumman by 2.0% in the second quarter. Kingfisher Capital LLC now owns 3,116 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,358,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank raised its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 69.5% in the second quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 167,568 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $73,051,000 after purchasing an additional 68,705 shares in the last quarter. Wescott Financial Advisory Group LLC lifted its position in Northrop Grumman by 352.2% during the second quarter. Wescott Financial Advisory Group LLC now owns 5,010 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,184,000 after buying an additional 3,902 shares during the period. Finally, BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 57.1% during the 2nd quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 26,956 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $11,751,000 after buying an additional 9,799 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $592.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Jefferies Financial Group cut 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. Barclays lifted their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut Northrop Grumman from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $477.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Finally, BTIG Research initiated coverage on Northrop Grumman in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $565.00 price target for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $523.20.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In related news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,389 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 at the SEC website. In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 4,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,317,000. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,389 shares of the 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 sale, 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 have sold 2,846 shares of company stock valued at $1,393,028 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 3.0 %

Northrop Grumman stock opened at $543.88 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $80.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.03, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.34. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $509.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $473.36. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1 year low of $414.56 and a 1 year high of $555.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.99.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.93 by $0.43. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 25.44% and a net margin of 5.61%. The firm had revenue of $10.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.02 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $5.34 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were paid a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is 57.62%.

Northrop Grumman 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.