Founders Capital Management Sells 60 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Founders Capital Management lessened its stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 1.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,270 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 60 shares during the quarter. Northrop Grumman makes up approximately 1.7% of Founders Capital Management’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Founders Capital Management’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $2,402,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of NOC. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 70,532.5% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 637,105 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $347,611,000 after acquiring an additional 636,203 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 62.6% during the 1st quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,143,475 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $527,965,000 after purchasing an additional 440,303 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 30.1% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,567,612 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $723,799,000 after purchasing an additional 362,449 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 1st quarter valued at $123,356,000. Finally, Harding Loevner LP purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 1st quarter valued at $120,708,000. Institutional investors own 82.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Mark A. Caylor sold 1,670 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $437.87, for a total value of $731,242.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,570 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,379,765.90. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.26% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on NOC. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $655.00 to $615.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 28th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $448.00 to $485.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 31st. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $502.00 to $485.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 28th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 target price on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Thursday, August 3rd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein cut their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $581.00 to $569.00 in a research report on Friday, June 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $506.40.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE NOC traded up $1.56 during trading on Friday, hitting $433.88. 171,492 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 840,181. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $439.41 and a two-hundred day moving average of $449.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.20 and a quick ratio of 1.09. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12-month low of $416.71 and a 12-month high of $556.27. The firm has a market cap of $65.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.32, a PEG ratio of 4.64 and a beta of 0.52.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 27th. The aerospace company reported $5.34 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.31 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $9.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.32 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 12.27% and a return on equity of 24.90%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 22.63 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 28th were paid a dividend of $1.87 per share. This represents a $7.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 25th. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.78%.

Northrop Grumman Company Profile

Northrop Grumman Corporation operates as an aerospace and defense company worldwide. The company's Aeronautics Systems segment designs, develops, manufactures, integrates, and sustains aircraft systems in the United States and internationally. 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.