Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Shares Sold by Independent Advisor Alliance

Independent Advisor Alliance lowered its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 2.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,844 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 167 shares during the quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $3,086,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AIA Group Ltd boosted its position in Northrop Grumman by 20.0% during the 3rd quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 7,458 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $3,938,000 after purchasing an additional 1,242 shares during the period. Aviso Wealth Management boosted its position in Northrop Grumman by 110.7% during the 2nd quarter. Aviso Wealth Management now owns 1,896 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $827,000 after purchasing an additional 996 shares during the period. Susquehanna International Securities Ltd. acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,133,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Northrop Grumman by 133.9% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,248 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $980,000 after purchasing an additional 1,287 shares during the period. Finally, Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. boosted its position in Northrop Grumman by 40.8% during the 3rd quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 3,660 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,933,000 after purchasing an additional 1,060 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In other news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the business’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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $286,183.41. The trade was a 68.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders have sold 1,289 shares of company stock valued at $685,273 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Down 2.3 %

NOC opened at $485.27 on Tuesday. Northrop Grumman Co. has a one year low of $418.60 and a one year high of $555.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.09. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $519.87 and its 200-day moving average is $487.03. The company has a market capitalization of $70.70 billion, a PE ratio of 30.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 0.35.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.07 by $0.93. The company had revenue of $10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.18 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.57% and a net margin of 5.79%. Northrop Grumman’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $6.18 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a dividend of $2.06 per share. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.70%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.05%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on NOC. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $592.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Barclays lifted their target price on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Alembic Global Advisors downgraded Northrop Grumman from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $560.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $550.56.

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.