Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) PT Raised to $505.00 at Robert W. Baird

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) had its price objective raised by Robert W. Baird from $475.00 to $505.00 in a research note released on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the aerospace company’s stock.

NOC has been the topic of several other research reports. TheStreet cut shares of Northrop Grumman from a b+ rating to a c+ rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a sector perform rating and set a $450.00 price objective (down previously from $515.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $560.00 to $540.00 and set a positive rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 26th. StockNews.com cut shares of Northrop Grumman from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Finally, Alembic Global Advisors upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a neutral rating to an overweight rating and set a $532.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $503.00.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NOC opened at $480.45 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.02. Northrop Grumman has a 1-year low of $414.56 and a 1-year high of $496.89. The company has a market capitalization of $71.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.35. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $462.59 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $465.72.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.83 by $0.49. The firm had revenue of $10.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.77 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.38% and a return on equity of 24.09%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $5.50 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Northrop Grumman will post 24.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 26th were paid a $1.87 dividend. This represents a $7.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 23rd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is currently 52.31%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 1,273 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.37, for a total value of $573,321.01. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 2,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,231,761.95. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 1,273 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.37, for a total value of $573,321.01. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 2,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,231,761.95. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 210 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $454.68, for a total transaction of $95,482.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,127 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,421,784.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 3,149 shares of company stock valued at $1,421,147. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Northrop Grumman

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 960.0% in the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 53 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the third quarter worth about $29,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, McIlrath & Eck LLC grew its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 247.6% in the fourth quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 73 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

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.