Marco Investment Management LLC Sells 45 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Marco Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 0.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,150 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 45 shares during the period. Marco Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $7,560,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter worth $283,114,000. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 74.7% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,174,556 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $517,028,000 after buying an additional 502,060 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 10.1% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,488,412 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,975,754,000 after buying an additional 410,736 shares in the last quarter. London Co. of Virginia acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman during the 3rd quarter worth $165,786,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 29.2% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,605,679 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $706,804,000 after buying an additional 362,515 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 955 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.37, for a total value of $430,103.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,137 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,863,180.69. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 955 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.37, for a total value of $430,103.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,137 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,863,180.69. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 210 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 3,127 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,421,784.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 3,149 shares of company stock worth $1,421,147 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday. Alembic Global Advisors raised Northrop Grumman from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $532.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Northrop Grumman from $475.00 to $505.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. StockNews.com raised Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Susquehanna increased their price target on Northrop Grumman from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $503.00.

Northrop Grumman Trading Down 1.6 %

Shares of NOC traded down $7.61 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $480.45. The stock had a trading volume of 1,371,947 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,120,454. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52 week low of $414.56 and a 52 week high of $496.89. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $462.59 and a 200 day moving average of $465.72. The company has a market cap of $71.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.35.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.83 by $0.49. The firm had revenue of $10.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.77 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 24.09% and a net margin of 5.38%. The company’s revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $5.50 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 24.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

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

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.