Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) Price Target Increased to $518.00 by Analysts at Wells Fargo & Company

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) had its price objective lifted by Wells Fargo & Company from $483.00 to $518.00 in a research report released on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an equal weight rating on the aerospace company’s stock.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Alembic Global Advisors raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a neutral rating to an overweight rating and set a $532.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $475.00 to $505.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. StockNews.com raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. TheStreet cut shares of Northrop Grumman from a b+ rating to a c+ rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, Susquehanna upped their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a positive rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $509.38.

Northrop Grumman Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of Northrop Grumman stock opened at $485.09 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $463.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $465.75. The company has a market cap of $71.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.35. Northrop Grumman has a fifty-two week low of $414.56 and a fifty-two week high of $496.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.13.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.83 by $0.49. The business had revenue of $10.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.77 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.38% and a return on equity of 24.09%. The company’s revenue was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $5.50 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Northrop Grumman will post 24.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 26th were issued a $1.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 23rd. This represents a $7.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.54%. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is 52.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 210 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $454.68, for a total value of $95,482.80. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,127 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,421,784.36. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 955 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.37, for a total value of $430,103.35. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,137 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,863,180.69. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 210 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $454.68, for a total transaction of $95,482.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,127 shares in the company, valued at $1,421,784.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 3,149 shares of company stock worth $1,421,147 in the last ninety days. 0.22% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Northrop Grumman

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Mission Wealth Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 6.2% in the 1st quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP now owns 6,357 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $3,043,000 after acquiring an additional 373 shares during the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 1st quarter worth approximately $870,000. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 14.0% in the 1st quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 4,289 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,043,000 after acquiring an additional 528 shares during the last quarter. Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. lifted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 6.2% during the 1st quarter. Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. now owns 7,434 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $3,558,000 after buying an additional 437 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vantage Investment Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 51.1% during the 1st quarter. Vantage Investment Partners LLC now owns 80,432 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $38,497,000 after buying an additional 27,192 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.