Martingale Asset Management L P Sells 2,612 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Martingale Asset Management L P cut its holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 4.9% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 50,612 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 2,612 shares during the period. Martingale Asset Management L P’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $26,727,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of NOC. Optimum Investment Advisors boosted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 241.2% during the second quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 58 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the third quarter worth $31,000. Bank & Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the second quarter worth $28,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 245.5% during the second quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 76 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the third quarter worth $40,000. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NOC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $521.00 to $587.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Susquehanna raised their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $560.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. 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. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $550.56.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of NOC stock opened at $489.08 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $71.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.30, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.35. 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 company has a 50-day simple moving average of $517.90 and a 200 day simple moving average of $487.15. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52 week low of $418.60 and a 52 week high of $555.57.

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

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.68%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the business’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 owns 537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $286,183.41. The trade was a 68.28 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders sold 1,255 shares of company stock valued at $667,727 in the last quarter. Company 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.