Means Investment CO. Inc. Trims Stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Means Investment CO. Inc. trimmed its position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,498 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 109 shares during the quarter. Means Investment CO. Inc.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $2,375,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Ascent Group LLC lifted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 0.5% in the second quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 4,337 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,891,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of 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 worth $1,131,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Asset Dedication LLC boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.0% during the third quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 2,025 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,069,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Salvus Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 1.6% during the third quarter. Salvus Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,321 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $698,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the period. Finally, Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Northrop Grumman by 4.6% in the second quarter. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 500 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $218,000 after buying an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,389 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $477.56, for a total transaction of $663,330.84. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 6,755 shares in the company, valued at $3,225,917.80. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $695,000.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at 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 value of $663,330.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 6,755 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,225,917.80. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 2,879 shares of company stock worth $1,410,703. 0.22% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. TD Cowen raised Northrop Grumman to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. StockNews.com upgraded Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Alembic Global Advisors downgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $560.00 target price for the company. in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $592.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $535.00.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 0.5 %

Northrop Grumman stock opened at $530.79 on Friday. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52 week low of $418.60 and a 52 week high of $555.57. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $521.74 and a 200 day moving average price of $478.93. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The company has a market capitalization of $78.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.34.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.36 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $10.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.02 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $5.34 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.16 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were given a $2.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.55%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.