Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Sells 1,450 Shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lessened its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) by 2.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 51,779 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 1,450 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $25,034,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,169,195 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $6,707,203,000 after acquiring an additional 168,267 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman in the 2nd quarter worth about $6,001,616,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in Northrop Grumman in the second quarter valued at about $1,298,141,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Northrop Grumman by 0.6% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 960,690 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $655,373,000 after purchasing an additional 5,811 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 11.1% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 587,121 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $400,557,000 after purchasing an additional 58,690 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, Director Mark Welsh, III sold 98 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $555.65, for a total transaction of $54,453.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 4,314 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,397,074.10. This trade represents a 2.22% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 0.4%

NYSE NOC opened at $550.88 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $78.26 billion, a PE ratio of 17.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of -0.13. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $519.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $587.07. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 12 month low of $470.06 and a 12 month high of $774.00.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 20th. The aerospace company reported $7.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.18 by $0.71. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 23.46% and a net margin of 10.37%. The company had revenue of $11.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.14 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $7.67 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 29.68 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 31st were given a dividend of $2.47 per share. This represents a $9.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 31st. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.17%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on NOC. Susquehanna lowered their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $785.00 to $655.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. BNP Paribas Exane lifted their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $540.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $600.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $533.00 to $538.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $617.00 to $667.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $643.74.

About Northrop Grumman

Northrop Grumman Corporation is a U.S.-based aerospace and defense company that develops and produces systems for government and commercial customers. Its business spans aeronautics, defense, mission technologies and space, including military aircraft, autonomous systems, missile and air-defense capabilities, sensors, communications and satellites. The company is the prime contractor for the B-21 Raider and is developing the Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile system. It also supplies technologies and components for other defense programs, as well as launch vehicles, propulsion systems and spacecraft.