Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC Stock: Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. Cuts Holdings

Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. lessened its position in shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) by 36.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,790 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 5,540 shares during the period. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $4,733,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.3% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,169,195 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $6,707,203,000 after buying an additional 168,267 shares in the last quarter. Sage Capital Advisors llc bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the third quarter valued at about $5,773,000. Jupiter Topco LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the second quarter valued at about $3,308,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the second quarter valued at about $1,298,141,000. Finally, AXQ Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the second quarter valued at about $1,461,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $585.00 price target on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Sunday, October 25th. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $612.00 to $640.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 21st. Susquehanna decreased their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $785.00 to $655.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $525.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $745.00 to $765.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 21st. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $643.74.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Mark Welsh, III sold 98 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $555.65, for a total value of $54,453.70. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 4,314 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,397,074.10. This trade represents a 2.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 2.8%

NOC opened at $539.48 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $76.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of -0.13. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a twelve month low of $470.06 and a twelve month high of $774.00. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $519.23 and a 200 day simple moving average of $588.28.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 20th. The aerospace company reported $7.89 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.18 by $0.71. The firm had revenue of $11.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.14 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 10.37% and a return on equity of 23.46%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $7.67 EPS. Analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 29.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

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. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 31st. This represents a $9.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.17%.

About Northrop Grumman

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.

Northrop Grumman traces its roots to Northrop Aircraft, founded in 1939, and Grumman, founded in 1930; the two companies combined in 1994.