Pittenger & Anderson Inc. Buys 30 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Pittenger & Anderson Inc. lifted its holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,613 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 30 shares during the quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $2,964,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on NOC shares. UBS Group lifted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $614.00 to $643.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $592.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Susquehanna upped their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $560.00 to $625.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $550.56.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

NYSE NOC opened at $512.92 on Wednesday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $74.73 billion, a PE ratio of 31.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a fifty day moving average of $523.44 and a two-hundred day moving average of $484.03.

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

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were paid a $2.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.61%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.