Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) Price Target Raised to $580.00 at Barclays

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) had its target price increased by Barclays from $500.00 to $580.00 in a report released on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. Barclays currently has an equal weight rating on the aerospace company’s stock.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on NOC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $480.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Susquehanna upped their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $557.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the company from $424.00 to $521.00 in a report on Friday, April 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $547.00 to $565.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $586.79.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of NYSE NOC opened at $572.51 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. Northrop Grumman has a 52 week low of $426.24 and a 52 week high of $576.86. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $505.23 and a 200 day moving average price of $492.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $81.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.35 and a beta of 0.15.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The aerospace company reported $7.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.84 by $0.27. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 9.74% and a return on equity of 25.52%. The company had revenue of $10.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.15 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $6.36 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman will post 28.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd were given a dividend of $2.31 per share. This is a positive change from Northrop Grumman’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.06. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $9.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.61%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is 34.06%.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In related news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $505.77, for a total transaction of $3,793,275.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 201,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $101,964,243.54. This represents a 3.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Robert J. Fleming sold 3,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $505.77, for a total transaction of $1,770,195.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 1,827 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $924,041.79. This trade represents a 65.70% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 16,569 shares of company stock worth $8,323,150. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Northrop Grumman

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Brookstone Capital Management grew its stake in Northrop Grumman by 121.0% during the first quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 6,640 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $3,400,000 after buying an additional 3,635 shares during the period. GAM Holding AG grew its stake in Northrop Grumman by 51.9% during the first quarter. GAM Holding AG now owns 2,338 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,197,000 after buying an additional 799 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group grew its stake in Northrop Grumman by 12.8% during the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 8,857 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $4,132,000 after buying an additional 1,008 shares during the period. RFG Bristol Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter worth approximately $284,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Northrop Grumman by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,025,263 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,417,850,000 after buying an additional 21,903 shares during the period. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.