Everett Harris & Co. CA Has $528,000 Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Everett Harris & Co. CA lessened its stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 3.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,103 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 44 shares during the quarter. Everett Harris & Co. CA’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $528,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NOC. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter worth $283,114,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 10.1% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,488,412 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,975,754,000 after purchasing an additional 410,736 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 2,801.7% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 330,499 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $154,720,000 after buying an additional 319,109 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $97,866,000. Finally, Global Assets Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman in the first quarter worth approximately $83,182,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on NOC. Susquehanna lifted their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $530.00 to $500.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. 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 report on Friday, April 26th. BTIG Research started coverage on Northrop Grumman in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. They set a “buy” rating and a $565.00 price target for the company. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $510.36.

Northrop Grumman Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NOC opened at $435.46 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.13. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $452.83 and a 200-day simple moving average of $458.44. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52 week low of $414.56 and a 52 week high of $496.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $64.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.33.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.32 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.83 by $0.49. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 24.09% and a net margin of 5.38%. The firm had revenue of $10.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.77 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $5.50 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 24.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 28th were paid a dividend of $2.06 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 24th. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.89%. This is an increase from Northrop Grumman’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.87. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is currently 57.62%.

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.