Cynosure Group LLC Lowers Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Cynosure Group LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 16.1% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 743 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 143 shares during the period. Cynosure Group LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $392,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in NOC. Ascent Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.5% during 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. raised its position in Northrop Grumman by 0.9% during 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 in the last quarter. Asset Dedication LLC raised 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 valued at $1,069,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC lifted 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 last quarter. Finally, PBMares Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. PBMares Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,421 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,335,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:NOC opened at $489.20 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $518.57 and a 200-day moving average price of $487.14. 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 capitalization of $71.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.31, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 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 quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $10 billion for 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 business’s revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $6.18 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The company 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 $2.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.68%. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is currently 51.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 537 shares in the company, valued at approximately $286,183.41. The trade was a 68.28 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,255 shares of company stock worth $667,727. 0.22% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on NOC shares. StockNews.com cut Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $509.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, TD Cowen raised Northrop Grumman to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $550.56.

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.