Intellectus Partners LLC Reduces Stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Intellectus Partners LLC lowered its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,225 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 41 shares during the quarter. Intellectus Partners LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $647,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Optimum Investment Advisors increased its position in Northrop Grumman by 241.2% in the second quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 58 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 245.5% during the second quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 76 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Northrop Grumman during the third quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the second quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on NOC shares. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $521.00 to $587.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $592.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. StockNews.com upgraded Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Barclays lifted their target price on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, TD Cowen raised shares of Northrop Grumman to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $550.56.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

NOC opened at $493.88 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $71.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.60, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12-month low of $418.60 and a 12-month high of $555.57. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $523.70 and a 200-day moving average price of $486.13.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.07 by $0.93. The firm had revenue of $10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.18 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.79% and a return on equity of 26.57%. The business’s revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $6.18 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were paid a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In other news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total transaction of $616,067.08. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $286,183.41. This represents a 68.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 1,289 shares of company stock worth $685,273 over the last three months. 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.