9,130 Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC Shares Sold by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lessened its stake in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 299,627 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 9,130 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $144,864,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the third quarter worth approximately $20,648,000. Northern Financial Advisors Inc raised its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Financial Advisors Inc now owns 974 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $471,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 24,951 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $12,063,000 after acquiring an additional 941 shares during the last quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 24.6% during the 3rd quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 13,596 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $6,573,000 after purchasing an additional 2,681 shares during the period. Finally, Investment Partners LTD. boosted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 100.0% during the third quarter. Investment Partners LTD. now owns 2,196 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,062,000 after purchasing an additional 1,098 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NOC has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $525.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 21st. Guggenheim increased their target price on Northrop Grumman from $612.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 21st. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $585.00 price target on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Sunday, October 25th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $745.00 to $765.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 21st. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane upped their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $540.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 21st. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $643.74.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 0.2%

NYSE:NOC opened at $558.79 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $79.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of -0.13. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a one year low of $470.06 and a one year high of $774.00. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $520.51 and a 200 day simple moving average of $591.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.23.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 20th. The aerospace company reported $7.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.18 by $0.71. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 23.46% and a net margin of 10.37%. The firm had revenue of $11.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $7.67 earnings per share. Northrop Grumman’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 29.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

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

About Northrop Grumman

Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) is a global aerospace and defense company that develops and produces systems for government and commercial customers, with the U.S. government representing its primary customer base. The company operates across aerospace, defense, space, cybersecurity and advanced technology markets.

Its products and services include military aircraft and autonomous systems, space systems and satellites, missile defense technologies, command-and-control systems, cyber solutions, sensors, communications networks and other mission-critical systems.