Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) Cut to “Neutral” at Alembic Global Advisors

Alembic Global Advisors lowered shares of Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) from an overweight rating to a neutral rating in a report published on Tuesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They currently have $560.00 price objective on the aerospace company’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on NOC. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Northrop Grumman from $530.00 to $500.00 and set a hold rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $467.00 to $509.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. BTIG Research started coverage on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. They issued a buy rating and a $565.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on Northrop Grumman from $593.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $523.20.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Shares of NOC stock opened at $519.53 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $465.98 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $461.96. The stock has a market cap of $76.89 billion, a PE ratio of 36.32, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.32. Northrop Grumman has a 52-week low of $414.56 and a 52-week high of $521.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.11.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.93 by $0.43. The business had revenue of $10.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.02 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 25.44% and a net margin of 5.61%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $5.34 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman will post 25.18 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd will be issued a $2.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.59%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.62%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,389 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $477.56, for a total transaction of $663,330.84. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 6,755 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,225,917.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $695,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 4,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,317,000. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,389 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $477.56, for a total transaction of $663,330.84. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 6,755 shares in the company, valued at $3,225,917.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $605,000. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its stake in Northrop Grumman by 8.0% in the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,416 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,131,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp lifted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 51,184 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $23,961,000 after purchasing an additional 596 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Finally, Transcend Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 10.4% in the fourth quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC now owns 629 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $294,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Northrop Grumman Company 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.