Cynosure Group LLC Has $392,000 Stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Cynosure Group LLC lowered its position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 16.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 743 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 143 shares during the period. Cynosure Group LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $392,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of NOC. Optimum Investment Advisors lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 241.2% during the 2nd quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 58 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the period. Bank & Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 245.5% during the 2nd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 76 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Northrop Grumman in the third quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new position in Northrop Grumman in the second quarter valued at about $47,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 537 shares in the company, valued at approximately $286,183.41. The trade was a 68.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 1,255 shares of company stock valued at $667,727 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on NOC shares. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $614.00 to $643.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Alembic Global Advisors lowered shares of Northrop Grumman from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $560.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Susquehanna raised their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $560.00 to $625.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $550.56.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

NYSE NOC opened at $489.20 on Thursday. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1 year low of $418.60 and a 1 year high of $555.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $518.57 and a 200-day moving average price of $487.14. The firm has a market cap of $71.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.31, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.35.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.07 by $0.93. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.57% and a net margin of 5.79%. The company had revenue of $10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.18 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $6.18 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a $2.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.68%. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is 51.05%.

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.