Bessemer Securities LLC Sells 1,475 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Bessemer Securities LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 35.0% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 2,735 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 1,475 shares during the period. Bessemer Securities LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $1,247,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 3,353,108 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,829,490,000 after buying an additional 114,823 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in 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 worth $723,799,000 after purchasing an additional 362,449 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,243,164 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $566,634,000 after purchasing an additional 13,958 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 62.6% in the first 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. Finally, Macquarie Group Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 7.7% during the first quarter. Macquarie Group Ltd. now owns 982,045 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $453,430,000 after buying an additional 70,389 shares during the period. 82.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Northrop Grumman stock traded up $1.47 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $465.64. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 50,776 shares, compared to its average volume of 859,376. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The company has a market cap of $70.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.23, a PEG ratio of 8.43 and a beta of 0.42. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1-year low of $414.56 and a 1-year high of $549.87. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $456.97 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $448.37.

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

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Mark A. Caylor sold 1,670 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $472.62, for a total value of $789,275.40. Following the transaction, 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 SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, VP Roshan S. Roeder sold 1,007 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $465.00, for a total transaction of $468,255.00. Following 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Mark A. Caylor sold 1,670 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $472.62, for a total value of $789,275.40. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 12,900 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,096,798. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on NOC shares. UBS Group started coverage on Northrop Grumman in a research report on Tuesday, October 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $555.00 target price on the stock. 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 report on Monday, September 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $430.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 31st. Bank of America decreased their target price on Northrop Grumman from $655.00 to $615.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 28th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $500.20.

About Northrop Grumman

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.