Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Shares Acquired by Plato Investment Management Ltd

Plato Investment Management Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 24.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 848 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $447,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 5.6% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 11,747,646 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $5,623,128,000 after buying an additional 621,636 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 4.8% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,634,043 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,218,132,000 after purchasing an additional 211,459 shares during the period. Capital World Investors increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,688,511 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,765,543,000 after purchasing an additional 23,398 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in Northrop Grumman by 16.0% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,087,913 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $474,276,000 after purchasing an additional 150,367 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 22.4% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 683,427 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $297,937,000 after purchasing an additional 125,262 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Northrop Grumman Stock Down 3.9 %

Shares of NYSE NOC opened at $500.34 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $524.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $486.03. The company has a market capitalization of $72.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 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 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 (NYSE:NOC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.07 by $0.93. The firm 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%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $6.18 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In related news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at $286,183.41. This trade represents a 68.28 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders have sold 1,289 shares of company stock valued at $685,273 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $509.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. StockNews.com raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $521.00 to $587.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $550.56.

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.