Quadrant Capital Group LLC Decreases Stock Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Quadrant Capital Group LLC cut its position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 19.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,175 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 288 shares during the period. Quadrant Capital Group LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $536,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of NOC. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership raised its position in Northrop Grumman by 0.9% during the second quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 129,536 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $59,043,000 after acquiring an additional 1,107 shares in the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the second quarter valued at approximately $566,000. Cetera Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 48.8% in the second quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 18,204 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $8,297,000 after buying an additional 5,970 shares in the last quarter. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 3.9% in the second quarter. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. now owns 3,311 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,509,000 after buying an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wintrust Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 4.8% in the second quarter. Wintrust Investments LLC now owns 500 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $228,000 after buying an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. 82.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In related news, VP Roshan S. Roeder sold 1,007 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $465.00, for a total value of $468,255.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 913 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $424,545. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Mark A. Caylor sold 1,670 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $472.62, for a total transaction of $789,275.40. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 12,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,096,798. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Roshan S. Roeder sold 1,007 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $465.00, for a total value of $468,255.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 913 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $424,545. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on NOC shares. UBS Group initiated coverage on Northrop Grumman in a research report on Tuesday, October 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $555.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com raised Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Citigroup lowered their price target on Northrop Grumman from $502.00 to $485.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $430.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Northrop Grumman from $485.00 to $435.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $500.20.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of Northrop Grumman stock opened at $464.17 on Friday. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52 week low of $414.56 and a 52 week high of $549.87. The firm has a market cap of $69.99 billion, a PE ratio of 15.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.43 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $456.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $448.34.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 26th. The aerospace company reported $6.18 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.81 by $0.37. The business had revenue of $9.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.58 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 24.24% and a net margin of 12.07%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $5.89 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 22.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 13th. Investors of record on Monday, November 27th will be given a $1.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 24th. This represents a $7.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.61%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.54%.

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.