Bristlecone Advisors LLC Lowers Stock Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Bristlecone Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 2.2% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 6,258 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 143 shares during the period. Bristlecone Advisors LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $3,305,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Ascent Group LLC raised its position in Northrop Grumman by 0.5% in the second 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 in the last quarter. Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.9% in the 3rd 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 lifted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.0% in 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 during the period. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings 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 buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Salvus Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 1.6% during the third quarter. Salvus Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,321 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $698,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the period. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on NOC. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $592.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $474.00 to $575.00 in a report on Monday, July 29th. Barclays increased their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $547.44.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In related news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $695,000.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 4,634 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,317,000. 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. Insiders sold 1,490 shares of company stock valued at $747,372 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of NOC opened at $519.35 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $523.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $481.22. Northrop Grumman Co. has a twelve month low of $418.60 and a twelve month high of $555.57. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $75.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.34.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.07 by $0.93. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 25.44% and a net margin of 5.61%. The company had revenue of $10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.18 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $6.18 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were paid a dividend of $2.06 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.59%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is currently 53.79%.

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.