Focused Investors LLC Sells 4,100 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Focused Investors LLC lowered its stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 1.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 216,200 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 4,100 shares during the quarter. Northrop Grumman comprises approximately 3.5% of Focused Investors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Focused Investors LLC owned 0.15% of Northrop Grumman worth $114,169,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in NOC. AIA Group Ltd boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 20.0% during the third quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 7,458 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $3,938,000 after buying an additional 1,242 shares during the last quarter. Aviso Wealth Management raised its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 110.7% in the 2nd quarter. Aviso Wealth Management now owns 1,896 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $827,000 after acquiring an additional 996 shares during the period. Susquehanna International Securities Ltd. bought a new position in Northrop Grumman during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,133,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 133.9% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,248 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $980,000 after purchasing an additional 1,287 shares during the period. Finally, Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. grew its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 40.8% during the third quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 3,660 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,933,000 after purchasing an additional 1,060 shares during the period. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Northrop Grumman Trading Down 1.3 %

NYSE NOC opened at $493.99 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $71.97 billion, a PE ratio of 30.61, a PEG ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 0.35. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12 month low of $418.60 and a 12 month high of $555.57. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $523.27 and a 200-day moving average of $486.19. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00.

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

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were paid a dividend of $2.06 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.67%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 51.05%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on NOC shares. Susquehanna increased their price target on Northrop Grumman from $560.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $474.00 to $575.00 in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Alembic Global Advisors downgraded Northrop Grumman from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $560.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $509.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $550.56.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 537 shares in the company, valued at $286,183.41. This trade represents a 68.28 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,289 shares of company stock valued at $685,273. 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.