Clarius Group LLC Sells 152 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Clarius Group LLC decreased its holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 12.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,030 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 152 shares during the period. Clarius Group LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $449,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. CX Institutional lifted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 3.0% in the second quarter. CX Institutional now owns 5,710 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,489,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 5.5% during the 2nd quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 1,984 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $865,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 6.6% in the 2nd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 771 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $336,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Founders Capital Management grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Founders Capital Management now owns 5,003 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,181,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 22.0% in the second quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,193 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,828,000 after purchasing an additional 757 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $592.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada raised 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $474.00 to $575.00 in a report on Monday, July 29th. TD Cowen raised their price target on Northrop Grumman from $440.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Susquehanna upped their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $521.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In other news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $695,000.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 4,634 shares in the company, valued at $2,317,000. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 4,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,317,000. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,389 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $477.56, for a total transaction of $663,330.84. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 6,755 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,225,917.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Down 0.0 %

Shares of NOC stock traded down $0.19 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $491.13. 109,398 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 965,500. Northrop Grumman Co. has a fifty-two week low of $414.56 and a fifty-two week high of $506.83. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $446.12 and its 200-day moving average is $456.34. 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 company has a market cap of $72.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.32.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.93 by $0.43. The business had revenue of $10.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.02 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 25.44% and a net margin of 5.61%. The company’s revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $5.34 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 28th were given a dividend of $2.06 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 24th. This is an increase from Northrop Grumman’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.87. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.68%. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is currently 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.