St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC Cuts Stock Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC lessened its holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 4.5% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,400 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 112 shares during the period. St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $1,046,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. SlateStone Wealth LLC increased its stake in Northrop Grumman by 3.7% during the 2nd quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC now owns 9,690 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $4,225,000 after buying an additional 345 shares during the period. Addison Capital Co purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the 2nd quarter worth $287,000. Aljian Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Northrop Grumman by 9.9% during the 2nd quarter. Aljian Capital Management LLC now owns 9,465 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $4,126,000 after buying an additional 851 shares during the period. Fullcircle Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the 2nd quarter worth $425,000. Finally, First Merchants Corp purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the 2nd quarter worth $537,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Shares of Northrop Grumman stock traded up $2.71 on Monday, hitting $512.05. The company had a trading volume of 515,012 shares, compared to its average volume of 943,048. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $462.49 and a 200-day simple moving average of $461.19. 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 company has a market cap of $75.78 billion, a PE ratio of 35.81, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.32. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52 week low of $414.56 and a 52 week high of $512.34.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.93 by $0.43. The business had revenue of $10.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.02 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.61% and a return on equity of 25.44%. The business’s revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $5.34 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 3rd will be paid a dividend of $2.06 per share. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 3rd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is presently 57.62%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on NOC shares. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $440.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. StockNews.com raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 12th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $593.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $474.00 to $575.00 in a report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $467.00 to $509.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $521.33.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In related news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 4,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,317,000. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,389 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the vice president now owns 6,755 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,225,917.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 4,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,317,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.22% 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.