Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC Decreases Stock Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC lessened its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 58.9% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 5,929 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 8,509 shares during the period. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $3,131,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital International Investors increased its position in Northrop Grumman by 5.6% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 11,747,646 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $5,623,128,000 after purchasing an additional 621,636 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1,915.9% in the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 438,521 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $191,173,000 after buying an additional 416,768 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 4.8% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,634,043 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,218,132,000 after buying an additional 211,459 shares in the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 2nd quarter valued at about $90,177,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 2nd quarter valued at about $74,206,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total value of $616,067.08. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 537 shares in the company, valued at approximately $286,183.41. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 1,289 shares of company stock worth $685,273 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

NOC opened at $520.39 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $75.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.24, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12-month low of $418.60 and a 12-month high of $555.57. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $524.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $485.78.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.18 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $6.18 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were paid a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.58%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 3rd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.05%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on NOC. Alembic Global Advisors downgraded Northrop Grumman from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $560.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. StockNews.com upgraded Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $560.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $614.00 to $643.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $521.00 to $587.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $550.56.

Northrop Grumman Company Profile

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.