Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Shares Acquired by American Capital Advisory LLC

American Capital Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 157.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,476 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,515 shares during the period. American Capital Advisory LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $1,308,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

NOC stock traded up $10.26 on Wednesday, reaching $523.16. The company had a trading volume of 136,759 shares, compared to its average volume of 863,228. The company’s fifty day moving average is $523.44 and its 200 day moving average is $484.03. The company has a market cap of $76.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.78, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.09. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1 year low of $418.60 and a 1 year high of $555.57.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued 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. The business had revenue of $10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.18 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.57% and a net margin of 5.79%. The business’s revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $6.18 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were given a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.58%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 3rd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.05%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on NOC. Alembic Global Advisors cut Northrop Grumman from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $560.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.