Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) Shares Sold by Nilsine Partners LLC

Nilsine Partners LLC lowered its holdings in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) by 1.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,312 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 43 shares during the quarter. Nilsine Partners LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $2,208,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NOC. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 55,522.3% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,520,158 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $778,336,000 after purchasing an additional 1,517,425 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 8,239,434 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $3,866,133,000 after buying an additional 461,307 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in Northrop Grumman by 28.5% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,030,644 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $952,962,000 after purchasing an additional 450,858 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in Northrop Grumman by 337.1% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 482,112 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $226,250,000 after purchasing an additional 371,814 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter worth about $171,580,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $424.00 to $521.00 in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Susquehanna lowered their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $557.00 to $540.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $583.00 to $571.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $580.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $548.33.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

NYSE:NOC opened at $497.92 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $489.35 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $482.96. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a twelve month low of $422.69 and a twelve month high of $555.57. The company has a market capitalization of $71.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.40 and a beta of 0.14.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The aerospace company reported $6.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $6.33 by ($0.27). The business had revenue of $9.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.07 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 9.19% and a return on equity of 25.46%. As a group, research analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd were issued a $2.31 dividend. This represents a $9.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.86%. This is an increase from Northrop Grumman’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.06. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 2nd. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is presently 36.46%.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 729 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $505.77, for a total transaction of $368,706.33. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 7,552 shares in the company, valued at $3,819,575.04. The trade was a 8.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $505.77, for a total transaction of $3,793,275.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 201,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $101,964,243.54. This trade represents a 3.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 16,569 shares of company stock worth $8,322,279. 0.23% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.