Vantage Investment Partners LLC Boosts Holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Vantage Investment Partners LLC grew its holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 85,267 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 5,694 shares during the quarter. Northrop Grumman makes up approximately 3.8% of Vantage Investment Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Vantage Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $45,027,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of NOC. Optimum Investment Advisors grew its stake in Northrop Grumman by 241.2% in the 2nd quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 58 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Northrop Grumman by 245.5% in the 2nd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 76 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $47,000. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on NOC. Alembic Global Advisors cut shares of Northrop Grumman from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $560.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $521.00 to $587.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. TD Cowen raised shares of Northrop Grumman to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Susquehanna upped their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $560.00 to $625.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $592.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $550.56.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:NOC opened at $533.70 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $77.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.07, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.97. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1 year low of $418.60 and a 1 year high of $555.57. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $523.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $485.11.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.07 by $0.93. The company had revenue of $10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.18 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.57% and a net margin of 5.79%. Northrop Grumman’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $6.18 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were paid a dividend of $2.06 per share. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 3rd. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is presently 51.05%.

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.