Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Shares Sold by Sunbelt Securities Inc.

Sunbelt Securities Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 46.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,276 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 2,000 shares during the quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc.'s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $1,202,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Ascent Group LLC lifted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 4,337 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,891,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.9% in 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 acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Asset Dedication LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Northrop Grumman by 1.4% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Finally, PBMares Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Northrop Grumman by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. PBMares Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,421 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $2,335,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective 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. UBS Group increased their price target on Northrop Grumman from $614.00 to $643.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $521.00 to $587.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Alembic Global Advisors cut Northrop Grumman from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $560.00 price target for the company. in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $546.81.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of Northrop Grumman stock traded up $5.89 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $481.51. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,303,439 shares, compared to its average volume of 862,407. 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 company has a market capitalization of $70.15 billion, a PE ratio of 29.46, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.33. The business has a fifty day moving average of $509.02 and a 200 day moving average of $487.92. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1-year low of $418.60 and a 1-year high of $555.57.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 period last year, the company posted $6.18 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.93 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio is presently 51.05%.

Northrop Grumman declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the aerospace company to repurchase up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total value of $616,067.08. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 537 shares in the company, valued at approximately $286,183.41. The trade was a 68.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders have sold 1,255 shares of company stock worth $666,461 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company's stock.

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.