Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Position Increased by Asset Dedication LLC

Asset Dedication LLC grew its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 1.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,025 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Asset Dedication LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $1,069,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of NOC. Capital International Investors grew its stake in Northrop Grumman by 5.6% during the 1st 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 last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1,915.9% during the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 438,521 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $191,173,000 after acquiring an additional 416,768 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 4.8% during the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,634,043 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,218,132,000 after acquiring an additional 211,459 shares during the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 2nd quarter worth about $90,177,000. Finally, Global Assets Advisory LLC bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the 1st quarter valued at about $83,182,000. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In related news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $695,000.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 4,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,317,000. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,389 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $477.56, for a total transaction of $663,330.84. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 6,755 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,225,917.80. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $695,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 4,634 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,317,000. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 2,879 shares of company stock valued at $1,410,703 over the last three months. 0.22% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 0.9 %

NYSE:NOC opened at $531.43 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $520.27 and a 200 day simple moving average of $478.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $78.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.34. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1-year low of $418.60 and a 1-year high of $555.57.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.93 by $0.43. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.61% and a return on equity of 25.44%. The business had revenue of $10.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.02 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $5.34 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were given a dividend of $2.06 per share. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is 57.62%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on NOC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $467.00 to $509.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. TD Cowen raised Northrop Grumman to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $592.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein cut shares of Northrop Grumman from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $477.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Friday, June 21st. One equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $535.00.

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.