Empower Advisory Group LLC Has $460,000 Stock Holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Empower Advisory Group LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 9.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 872 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 86 shares during the period. Empower Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $460,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. RMR Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter valued at about $211,000. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 6.5% during the third quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,937 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,023,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its position in Northrop Grumman by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 353,466 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $186,655,000 after buying an additional 1,028 shares in the last quarter. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 40.2% during the 3rd quarter. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd now owns 1,586 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $838,000 after buying an additional 455 shares during the period. Finally, Patron Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 3rd quarter valued at $211,000. 83.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NOC has been the subject of several recent research reports. Citigroup increased their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $521.00 to $587.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. StockNews.com upgraded Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. One 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $550.56.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total transaction of $616,067.08. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $286,183.41. This represents a 68.28 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 1,289 shares of company stock worth $685,273. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

NYSE:NOC opened at $500.34 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $72.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.35. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1 year low of $418.60 and a 1 year high of $555.57. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $524.08 and a 200-day moving average of $486.03. 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 (NYSE:NOC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the prior year, the business earned $6.18 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were paid a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.05%.

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.