Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Stock Position Reduced by Congress Asset Management Co. MA

Congress Asset Management Co. MA decreased its stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 99.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 837 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 114,437 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co. MA’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $400,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in NOC. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 960.0% in the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 53 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC increased its position in Northrop Grumman by 247.6% in the 4th quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 73 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the period. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NOC opened at $432.09 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $63.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.22, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.35. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $458.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $460.76. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52-week low of $414.56 and a 52-week high of $496.89.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.83 by $0.49. The business had revenue of $10.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.77 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 24.09% and a net margin of 5.38%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $5.50 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 24.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 28th were issued a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.91%. This is a boost from Northrop Grumman’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.87. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 24th. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is presently 57.62%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NOC has been the topic of several analyst reports. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Northrop Grumman from $475.00 to $505.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Susquehanna raised their target price on Northrop Grumman from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Northrop Grumman from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Northrop Grumman from $530.00 to $500.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein cut Northrop Grumman from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $477.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $506.15.

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.