Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Decreases Stock Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lessened its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 114,949 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 6,607 shares during the quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $60,701,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ascent Group LLC grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 4,337 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,891,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 2,141 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,131,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Asset Dedication LLC grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 2,025 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,069,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Salvus Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Salvus Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,321 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $698,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 4.6% in the 2nd quarter. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 500 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $218,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 4,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,317,000. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of Northrop Grumman 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 owns 4,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,317,000. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $3,225,917.80. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 2,879 shares of company stock valued at $1,410,703. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NOC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $467.00 to $509.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Northrop Grumman from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $592.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. StockNews.com raised Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Northrop Grumman from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $535.00.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

NOC opened at $529.65 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $78.38 billion, a PE ratio of 37.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.34. The business’s 50-day moving average is $522.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $479.58. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1 year low of $418.60 and a 1 year high of $555.57.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $10.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.02 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 25.44% and a net margin of 5.61%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $5.34 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The firm 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. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is presently 57.62%.

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.