Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Shares Acquired by Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 0.4% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 809,445 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,211 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $427,444,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in NOC. Freestone Capital Holdings LLC lifted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 9.7% during the first quarter. Freestone Capital Holdings LLC now owns 835 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $400,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. lifted its position in Northrop Grumman by 41.7% during the 1st quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 635 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $304,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 63.7% in the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 138,990 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $66,529,000 after acquiring an additional 54,059 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 1.7% in the first quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 24,185 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $11,576,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LRI Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the first quarter worth $390,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on NOC. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $592.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. UBS Group increased their price target on Northrop Grumman from $614.00 to $643.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. TD Cowen upgraded Northrop Grumman to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. StockNews.com cut Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $550.56.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total transaction of $616,067.08. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 537 shares in the company, valued at approximately $286,183.41. The trade was a 68.28 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 1,289 shares of company stock valued at $685,273 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of NOC opened at $496.41 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.09. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $521.05 and a 200-day moving average of $486.55. The company has a market cap of $72.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 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.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.18 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $6.18 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a dividend of $2.06 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.66%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.05%.

About Northrop Grumman

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.