Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 58.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 15,729 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 22,327 shares during the quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc.'s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $8,306,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Hilltop Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 493.4% during the 3rd quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 7,578 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $4,002,000 after purchasing an additional 6,301 shares during the last quarter. Cinctive Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter worth $1,974,000. ClearAlpha Technologies LP bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter worth $251,000. Coastwise Capital Group LLC bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter worth $311,000. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 252.8% in the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 4,061 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $2,146,000 after acquiring an additional 2,910 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

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 shares were sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total value of $616,067.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 537 shares in the company, valued at $286,183.41. This represents a 68.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,255 shares of company stock worth $666,461. 0.22% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Northrop Grumman Stock Down 1.3 %

Northrop Grumman stock traded down $6.24 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $473.33. The stock had a trading volume of 915,666 shares, compared to its average volume of 859,670. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $68.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.33. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12-month low of $418.60 and a 12-month high of $555.57. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $513.61 and its 200-day moving average price is $487.60.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.18 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $6.18 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

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 given a dividend of $2.06 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.74%. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.05%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NOC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $521.00 to $587.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. StockNews.com raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday. TD Cowen raised shares of Northrop Grumman to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. 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 research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, Susquehanna raised their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $560.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus 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.