CX Institutional Lowers Stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

CX Institutional lessened its holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 87.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 739 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 4,971 shares during the period. CX Institutional's holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $390,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of NOC. Capital International Investors raised its position in Northrop Grumman by 5.6% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 11,747,646 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $5,623,128,000 after acquiring an additional 621,636 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 1,915.9% in the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 438,521 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $191,173,000 after purchasing an additional 416,768 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 4.8% during the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,634,043 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $2,218,132,000 after purchasing an additional 211,459 shares during the period. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the second quarter worth $90,177,000. Finally, Global Assets Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the first quarter valued at $83,182,000. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Barclays lifted their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Alembic Global Advisors cut shares of Northrop Grumman from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $560.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Northrop Grumman from $467.00 to $509.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. StockNews.com upgraded Northrop Grumman from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $535.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $695,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 4,634 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,317,000. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,389 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $477.56, for a total transaction of $663,330.84. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 6,755 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,225,917.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $695,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 4,634 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,317,000. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 2,879 shares of company stock valued at $1,410,703 over the last ninety days. 0.22% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

NOC opened at $528.10 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.99. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1 year low of $418.60 and a 1 year high of $555.57. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $521.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $478.43. The firm has a market cap of $78.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.93, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.34.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.93 by $0.43. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.61% and a return on equity of 25.44%. The firm had revenue of $10.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.02 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $5.34 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 57.62%.

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.