Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Shares Sold by Sunbelt Securities Inc.

Sunbelt Securities Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 46.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,276 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 2,000 shares during the period. Sunbelt Securities Inc.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $1,202,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,140,892 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,186,681,000 after acquiring an additional 17,596 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,003,360 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,581,644,000 after acquiring an additional 18,791 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in Northrop Grumman by 16.0% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,087,913 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $474,276,000 after purchasing an additional 150,367 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.4% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 809,445 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $427,444,000 after purchasing an additional 3,211 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 102.6% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 735,600 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $388,448,000 after purchasing an additional 372,500 shares during the period. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $286,183.41. This represents a 68.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,255 shares of company stock valued at $666,461. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Northrop Grumman Trading Down 1.0 %

NYSE NOC opened at $475.56 on Thursday. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12 month low of $418.60 and a 12 month high of $555.57. The company has a market capitalization of $69.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $510.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $488.01.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.07 by $0.93. The business had revenue of $10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.18 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.57% and a net margin of 5.79%. The business’s revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $6.18 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.73%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is currently 51.05%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NOC has been the topic of several recent research reports. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Northrop Grumman from $565.00 to $505.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. UBS Group upped their price target on Northrop Grumman from $614.00 to $643.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on Northrop Grumman from $521.00 to $587.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $546.81.

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.