Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Shares Bought by Capital Analysts LLC

Capital Analysts LLC raised its position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 1.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,006 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the period. Capital Analysts LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $1,407,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 70,532.5% during the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 637,105 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $347,611,000 after acquiring an additional 636,203 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter worth $283,114,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 74.7% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,174,556 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $517,028,000 after purchasing an additional 502,060 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 10.1% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,488,412 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,975,754,000 after purchasing an additional 410,736 shares during the period. Finally, London Co. of Virginia purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the third quarter worth about $165,786,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. TheStreet cut shares of Northrop Grumman from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Susquehanna lowered their price target on Northrop Grumman from $560.00 to $540.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 26th. StockNews.com cut Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Northrop Grumman from $505.00 to $475.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $450.00 price target (down previously from $515.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Friday, January 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $494.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 1,273 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.37, for a total value of $573,321.01. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 2,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,231,761.95. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 955 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.37, for a total transaction of $430,103.35. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,137 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,863,180.69. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 1,273 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.37, for a total transaction of $573,321.01. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 2,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,231,761.95. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 3,149 shares of company stock valued at $1,421,147 in the last quarter. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Northrop Grumman Stock Down 0.2 %

NOC opened at $450.21 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $66.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.40, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.35. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $459.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $464.29. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52 week low of $414.56 and a 52 week high of $496.89. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.80 by $0.47. The company had revenue of $10.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.43 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.23% and a return on equity of 23.07%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $7.50 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 24.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 26th were issued a $1.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 23rd. This represents a $7.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.66%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.49%.

Northrop Grumman 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.