Barclays PLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Barclays PLC cut its position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 48.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 395,511 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 369,286 shares during the quarter. Barclays PLC owned approximately 0.27% of Northrop Grumman worth $208,857,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of NOC. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Northrop Grumman by 245.5% during the 2nd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 76 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the third quarter worth $36,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the third quarter worth $40,000. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 2nd quarter valued at $47,000. 83.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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 dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total transaction of $616,067.08. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 537 shares in the company, valued at $286,183.41. This represents a 68.28 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders have sold a total of 1,255 shares of company stock worth $666,461 in the last ninety days. 0.22% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on NOC. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on 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 shares of Northrop Grumman from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $560.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $509.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $614.00 to $643.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned 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, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $550.56.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Shares of NOC stock traded up $1.01 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $480.18. The company had a trading volume of 746,957 shares, compared to its average volume of 859,672. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12-month low of $418.60 and a 12-month high of $555.57. The company has a market capitalization of $69.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.75, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.33. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average of $511.56 and a 200-day moving average of $487.91.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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%. The business's revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $6.18 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

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

About Northrop Grumman

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.