Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Shares Sold by Studio Investment Management LLC

Studio Investment Management LLC lowered its position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 5.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 4,154 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 220 shares during the quarter. Studio Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $1,949,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Albion Financial Group UT acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Bellwether Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 291.7% during the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 94 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In related news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 464 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.75, for a total transaction of $213,788.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 245 shares in the company, valued at $112,883.75. This trade represents a 65.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.65, for a total transaction of $1,783,687.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 212,852 shares in the company, valued at $101,243,053.80. This represents a 1.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 4,505 shares of company stock valued at $2,127,632. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Northrop Grumman stock opened at $472.67 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $68.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.15. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $496.53 and a 200-day simple moving average of $485.78. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12-month low of $418.60 and a 12-month high of $555.57. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The aerospace company reported $6.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $6.33 by ($0.27). The firm had revenue of $9.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.07 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.24% and a net margin of 10.17%. Equities analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a dividend of $2.06 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.74%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.52%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on NOC. StockNews.com cut shares of Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $424.00 to $521.00 in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Northrop Grumman from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased 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. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $545.31.

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.