Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE Cuts Stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE reduced its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 6.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,103 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 78 shares during the period. Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $516,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 10.1% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,488,412 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,975,754,000 after acquiring an additional 410,736 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its position in Northrop Grumman by 3.5% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,194,298 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,846,289,000 after buying an additional 142,036 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in Northrop Grumman by 29.2% in the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,605,679 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $706,804,000 after buying an additional 362,515 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in Northrop Grumman by 30.1% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,567,612 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $723,799,000 after buying an additional 362,449 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Northrop Grumman by 6.8% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,244,324 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $547,739,000 after buying an additional 79,263 shares during the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on NOC. Wolfe Research downgraded Northrop Grumman from a “peer perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $450.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Thursday, December 14th. StockNews.com lowered Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Susquehanna reduced their target price on Northrop Grumman from $560.00 to $540.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on Northrop Grumman from $505.00 to $475.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $541.00 to $473.00 in a research note on Friday, December 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $494.33.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 955 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.37, for a total transaction of $430,103.35. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,137 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,863,180.69. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 1,273 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.37, for a total transaction of $573,321.01. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,231,761.95. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 955 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.37, for a total transaction of $430,103.35. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,137 shares in the company, valued at $1,863,180.69. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 3,149 shares of company stock valued at $1,421,147 in the last three months. 0.26% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of Northrop Grumman stock traded up $0.88 during trading on Thursday, hitting $478.24. 256,235 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 940,874. The firm has a market cap of $71.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.34. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $457.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $461.20. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52-week low of $414.56 and a 52-week high of $496.89. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.80 by $0.47. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 23.07% and a net margin of 5.23%. The business had revenue of $10.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.43 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $7.50 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 24.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 26th were issued a dividend of $1.87 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 23rd. This represents a $7.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.56%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 55.49%.

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.