Lumbard & Kellner LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Lumbard & Kellner LLC reduced its stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 0.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 12,556 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 103 shares during the quarter. Northrop Grumman comprises approximately 2.6% of Lumbard & Kellner LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Lumbard & Kellner LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $5,474,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Optimum Investment Advisors lifted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 241.2% during the 2nd quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 58 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Bank & Trust Co purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the second quarter worth approximately $28,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 245.5% during the 2nd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 76 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the 1st quarter valued at about $38,000. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on NOC shares. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $593.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $467.00 to $509.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $474.00 to $575.00 in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Northrop Grumman from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, BTIG Research initiated coverage on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. They set a “buy” rating and a $565.00 price objective for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $523.20.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of NOC stock opened at $521.50 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $77.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.47, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.34. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52-week low of $414.56 and a 52-week high of $528.76. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The company’s 50 day moving average is $488.54 and its 200 day moving average is $468.04.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.93 by $0.43. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 25.44% and a net margin of 5.61%. The business had revenue of $10.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.02 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $5.34 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 3rd will be paid a dividend of $2.06 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.58%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.62%.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of Northrop Grumman 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 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,389 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $477.56, for a total value of $663,330.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 6,755 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,225,917.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $695,000.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 4,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,317,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 2,846 shares of company stock valued at $1,393,028 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

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.