Nicolet Advisory Services LLC Reduces Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Nicolet Advisory Services LLC reduced its holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 16.1% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 500 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 96 shares during the period. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $269,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of NOC. Ascent Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 4,337 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,891,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.9% in the third quarter. Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 2,141 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,131,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Asset Dedication LLC increased its position in Northrop Grumman by 1.0% during the third quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 2,025 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,069,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Northrop Grumman by 1.4% during the third quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,478 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $780,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Finally, PBMares Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. PBMares Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,421 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,335,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was 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 directly owns 537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $286,183.41. The trade was a 68.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 1,289 shares of company stock worth $685,273 in the last quarter. 0.22% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NOC opened at $496.87 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $72.39 billion, a PE ratio of 30.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 0.35. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $520.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $486.94. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1 year low of $418.60 and a 1 year high of $555.57.

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

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a dividend of $2.06 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.66%. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is 51.05%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $614.00 to $643.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $592.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Susquehanna lifted their target price on Northrop Grumman from $560.00 to $625.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Barclays increased their price target on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, Alembic Global Advisors lowered shares of Northrop Grumman from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $560.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $550.56.

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.