Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC Stock: Fifth Third Bancorp Lowers Stake

Fifth Third Bancorp reduced its stake in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) by 2.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 42,821 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 1,024 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $20,703,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in NOC. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,169,195 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $6,707,203,000 after purchasing an additional 168,267 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the second quarter worth $6,001,616,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the second quarter worth $1,298,141,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.6% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 960,690 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $655,373,000 after buying an additional 5,811 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake in Northrop Grumman by 2.2% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 747,121 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $380,516,000 after buying an additional 16,195 shares during the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 0.3%

NYSE:NOC opened at $550.55 on Friday. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 52 week low of $470.06 and a 52 week high of $774.00. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $520.74 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $585.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.23. The firm has a market cap of $78.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of -0.13.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 20th. The aerospace company reported $7.89 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.18 by $0.71. The company had revenue of $11.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.14 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 10.37% and a return on equity of 23.46%. Northrop Grumman’s revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $7.67 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 29.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 31st were given a dividend of $2.47 per share. This represents a $9.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 31st. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is 31.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In related news, Director Mark Welsh, III sold 98 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction on Monday, November 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $555.65, for a total transaction of $54,453.70. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 4,314 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,397,074.10. This trade represents a 2.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on NOC shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded Northrop Grumman from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $612.00 to $640.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 21st. Barclays upped their target price on Northrop Grumman from $419.00 to $430.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Northrop Grumman from $600.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 26th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and set a $585.00 price target on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Sunday, October 25th. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $643.74.

Northrop Grumman Profile

Northrop Grumman Corporation is a U.S.-based aerospace and defense company that develops and produces systems for government and commercial customers. Its business spans aeronautics, defense, mission technologies and space, including military aircraft, autonomous systems, missile and air-defense capabilities, sensors, communications and satellites. The company is the prime contractor for the B-21 Raider and is developing the Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile system. It also supplies technologies and components for other defense programs, as well as launch vehicles, propulsion systems and spacecraft.