Quarry LP Cuts Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Quarry LP cut its stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 72.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 59 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 155 shares during the period. Quarry LP’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $31,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NOC. Valley National Advisers Inc. grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 8.6% in the second quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 797 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $347,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in Northrop Grumman by 13.8% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,030 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,451,000 after buying an additional 367 shares during the period. 1858 Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Northrop Grumman by 3.7% during the second quarter. 1858 Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,831 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $798,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the period. Tyche Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in Northrop Grumman by 4.8% during the second quarter. Tyche Wealth Partners LLC now owns 759 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $331,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. Finally, Signet Investment Advisory Group Inc. boosted its position in Northrop Grumman by 5.0% during the second quarter. Signet Investment Advisory Group Inc. now owns 4,212 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,836,000 after buying an additional 201 shares during the period. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total transaction of $616,067.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $286,183.41. This trade represents a 68.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 1,255 shares of company stock valued at $666,461. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

NOC stock opened at $481.51 on Friday. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1 year low of $418.60 and a 1 year high of $555.57. The company has a market cap of $70.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.46, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.33. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $509.02 and a 200 day moving average of $487.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.97.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its 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 business had revenue of $10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.18 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $6.18 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.93 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the aerospace company to reacquire up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a dividend of $2.06 per share. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is 51.05%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NOC has been the subject of several analyst reports. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Susquehanna upped their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $560.00 to $625.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. 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 report on Friday, October 25th. Alembic Global Advisors downgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $560.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $546.81.

Northrop Grumman 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.