Royal London Asset Management Ltd. Sells 33,313 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. cut its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 22.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 114,888 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 33,313 shares during the quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. owned approximately 0.08% of Northrop Grumman worth $50,085,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bogart Wealth LLC boosted its position in Northrop Grumman by 14.1% during the first quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 170 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $81,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 4.6% in the 2nd quarter. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 500 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $218,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 2.4% in the first quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 965 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $462,000 after buying an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 1.1% during the second quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,068 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $902,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Renasant Bank raised its position in Northrop Grumman by 3.3% during the first quarter. Renasant Bank now owns 743 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $356,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Northrop Grumman Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:NOC opened at $519.90 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $76.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $481.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $466.36. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1 year low of $414.56 and a 1 year high of $528.76.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.36 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.93 by $0.43. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 25.44% and a net margin of 5.61%. The company had revenue of $10.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.02 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $5.34 earnings per share. Northrop Grumman’s revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 3rd will be paid a $2.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.58%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 57.62%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In other news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,389 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $477.56, for a total value of $663,330.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 6,755 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,225,917.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $695,000.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 4,634 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,317,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 2,846 shares of company stock worth $1,393,028 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NOC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Barclays raised their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on Northrop Grumman from $530.00 to $500.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $592.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $467.00 to $509.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $523.20.

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.