LRI Investments LLC Sells 31 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

LRI Investments LLC decreased its stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 775 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 31 shares during the quarter. LRI Investments LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $388,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of NOC. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.4% in 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 purchasing an additional 17,596 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 16.0% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,087,913 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $474,276,000 after purchasing an additional 150,367 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Northrop Grumman by 0.4% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 809,445 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $427,444,000 after buying an additional 3,211 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its stake in Northrop Grumman by 102.6% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 735,600 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $388,448,000 after buying an additional 372,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 22.4% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 683,427 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $297,937,000 after buying an additional 125,262 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Shares of NOC opened at $479.16 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $511.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $487.91. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. The stock has a market cap of $69.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.33. 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 quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.07 by $0.93. The business had revenue of $10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 quarter in the prior year, the company earned $6.18 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a dividend of $2.06 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.72%. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is 51.05%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $286,183.41. This represents a 68.28 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,255 shares of company stock worth $666,461. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NOC has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group increased their price target on Northrop Grumman from $614.00 to $643.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Barclays raised their target price on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Susquehanna raised their price objective 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. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $521.00 to $587.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average 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.