Main Street Financial Solutions LLC Sells 256 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Main Street Financial Solutions LLC reduced its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 16.6% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,288 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 256 shares during the quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $680,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of NOC. Capital International Investors boosted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 5.6% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 11,747,646 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $5,623,128,000 after purchasing an additional 621,636 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 4.8% in the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,634,043 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,218,132,000 after acquiring an additional 211,459 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.6% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,688,511 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,765,543,000 after purchasing an additional 23,398 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 22.4% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 683,427 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $297,937,000 after purchasing an additional 125,262 shares during the period. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In other news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total transaction of $616,067.08. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $286,183.41. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders sold 1,289 shares of company stock valued at $685,273 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Down 2.1 %

Shares of NOC opened at $520.39 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $524.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $485.78. 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 firm has a market cap of $75.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.35. 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 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.07 by $0.93. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.57% and a net margin of 5.79%. The company had revenue of $10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.18 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $6.18 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were paid a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.58%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 3rd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.05%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on NOC. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. 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. UBS Group upped their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $614.00 to $643.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $592.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, TD Cowen raised Northrop Grumman to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus 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.