Nicolet Advisory Services LLC Reduces Stock Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Nicolet Advisory Services LLC decreased its holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 16.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 500 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 96 shares during the period. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $269,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of NOC. BOKF NA raised its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 86.7% during the first quarter. BOKF NA now owns 3,398 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,602,000 after acquiring an additional 1,578 shares in the last quarter. Caxton Associates LP purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 1st quarter worth $864,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 1st quarter worth $1,340,000. Virtus Investment Advisers Inc. bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 1st quarter worth $402,000. Finally, Global Financial Private Client LLC increased its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 9.5% during the first quarter. Global Financial Private Client LLC now owns 1,105 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $521,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NOC has been the topic of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $592.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Barclays upped their target price on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Citigroup increased their target price on Northrop Grumman from $521.00 to $587.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $614.00 to $643.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $550.56.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 0.1 %

NOC stock opened at $496.87 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52 week low of $418.60 and a 52 week high of $555.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $72.39 billion, a PE ratio of 30.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 0.35. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $520.60 and a 200 day moving average of $486.94.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.07 by $0.93. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.79% and a return on equity of 26.57%. The business had revenue of $10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.18 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $6.18 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.05%.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In related news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total value of $616,067.08. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 537 shares in the company, valued at approximately $286,183.41. This represents a 68.28 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders sold a total of 1,289 shares of company stock worth $685,273 over the last three months. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.