Ascent Group LLC Sells 35 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Ascent Group LLC lowered its holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 0.8% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 4,302 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 35 shares during the quarter. Ascent Group LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $2,272,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1,915.9% in the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 438,521 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $191,173,000 after acquiring an additional 416,768 shares during the period. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 2nd quarter valued at about $90,177,000. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 2nd quarter worth about $74,206,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its stake in Northrop Grumman by 113.6% in the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 296,844 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $129,409,000 after buying an additional 157,854 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in Northrop Grumman by 16.0% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,087,913 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $474,276,000 after buying an additional 150,367 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on NOC shares. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $614.00 to $643.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Susquehanna increased their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $560.00 to $625.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $509.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $550.56.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total value of $616,067.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 537 shares in the company, valued at $286,183.41. This trade represents a 68.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,255 shares of company stock worth $667,727. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Down 0.6 %

Northrop Grumman stock opened at $484.64 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $517.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $487.46. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1-year low of $418.60 and a 1-year high of $555.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.33.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.07 by $0.93. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.79% and a return on equity of 26.57%. The company had revenue of $10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.18 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $6.18 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a dividend of $2.06 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.70%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.05%.

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.