Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. Grows Holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. raised its position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 40.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,660 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,060 shares during the quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $1,933,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ascent Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.5% in the second quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 4,337 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,891,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 2,141 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,131,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Asset Dedication LLC lifted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 2,025 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,069,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.4% during the third quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,478 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $780,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PBMares Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.5% during the third quarter. PBMares Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,421 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,335,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 1.6 %

NOC stock traded up $8.41 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $528.99. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 495,835 shares, compared to its average volume of 701,397. The firm has a market capitalization of $77.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.78, a PEG 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 quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.09. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $523.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $484.96.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 earnings per share 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 analyst estimates of $10.18 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.79% and a return on equity of 26.57%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $6.18 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.95 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were issued a dividend of $2.06 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.56%. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is currently 51.05%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on NOC shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $474.00 to $575.00 in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $521.00 to $587.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Alembic Global Advisors downgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $560.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $614.00 to $643.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $550.56.

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.