Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) Price Target Raised to $518.00

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) had its price objective boosted by Wells Fargo & Company from $483.00 to $518.00 in a research report report published on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the aerospace company’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on NOC. Susquehanna boosted their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a positive rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Alembic Global Advisors upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a neutral rating to an overweight rating and set a $532.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, April 22nd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. TheStreet cut shares of Northrop Grumman from a b+ rating to a c+ rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Northrop Grumman from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $509.38.

Northrop Grumman Trading Down 1.2 %

NOC traded down $5.91 on Tuesday, reaching $469.09. 1,432,693 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,013,910. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The company has a market cap of $69.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.34. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $464.80 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $465.95. Northrop Grumman has a one year low of $414.56 and a one year high of $496.89.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.32 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.83 by $0.49. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 24.09% and a net margin of 5.38%. The company had revenue of $10.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.77 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $5.50 EPS. Northrop Grumman’s quarterly revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Northrop Grumman will post 24.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 26th were paid a $1.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 23rd. This represents a $7.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.59%. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is 52.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 210 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $454.68, for a total transaction of $95,482.80. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,127 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,421,784.36. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Northrop Grumman news, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 210 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $454.68, for a total transaction of $95,482.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,127 shares in the company, valued at $1,421,784.36. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 1,273 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.37, for a total transaction of $573,321.01. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 2,735 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,231,761.95. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 3,149 shares of company stock valued at $1,421,147 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Northrop Grumman

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 960.0% during the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 53 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the period. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, McIlrath & Eck LLC grew its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 247.6% in the fourth quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 73 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Company 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.