Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The company reported $2.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.01 by $0.48, MarketBeat reports. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.48 EPS. The company earned $5.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.93 billion. The business’s revenue was down 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Northrop Grumman updated its FY16 guidance to $9.90-10.20 EPS.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) opened at 180.15 on Friday. Northrop Grumman has a one year low of $152.31 and a one year high of $193.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.86 billion and a PE ratio of 17.40. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $186.78 and a 200-day moving average of $177.43.

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Kathy J. Warden sold 4,697 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.04, for a total transaction of $878,526.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 31,980 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,981,539.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Denise M. Peppard sold 4,944 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.24, for a total transaction of $896,050.56. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 30,402 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,510,058.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

A hedge fund recently raised its stake in Northrop Grumman stock. Simplex Trading increased its stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 313.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,043 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 4,582 shares during the period. Simplex Trading’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $1,140,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

NOC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Credit Suisse upped their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $174.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. Vetr upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $205.70 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 3rd. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $189.00 to $196.00 in a research note on Friday, October 30th. Argus upped their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 12th. Finally, Barclays restated a “hold” rating on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Friday, January 22nd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. The company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $203.19.

Northrop Grumman Corporation is a global security company. The Company provides systems, products and solutions in unmanned systems; cyber; command, control, communications and computers (NYSE:NOC), intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (C4ISR); strike aircraft, and logistics and modernization to government and commercial customers across the world. The Company operates through four segments: Aerospace Systems, Electronic Systems, Information Systems and Technical Services. It offers a portfolio of capabilities and technologies that enable it to deliver systems and solutions for applications. It participates in many high-priority defense and Government programs in the United States and abroad. The Company conducts business with the United States Government, the Department of Defense (DoD) and intelligence community. The Company also conducts business with local, state, and foreign Governments and domestic and international commercial customers.

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