Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Shares Purchased by LPL Financial LLC

LPL Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 4.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 233,630 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,572 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC owned approximately 0.16% of Northrop Grumman worth $101,851,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of NOC. Capital International Investors grew its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 5.6% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 11,747,646 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $5,623,128,000 after acquiring an additional 621,636 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1,915.9% during the 2nd 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. Focused Investors Fund L P acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 1st quarter valued at about $108,369,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 4.8% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,634,043 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,218,132,000 after acquiring an additional 211,459 shares during the period. Finally, Eagle Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter valued at about $97,866,000. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NOC has been the topic of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $530.00 to $500.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $592.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. BTIG Research initiated coverage on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $565.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $467.00 to $509.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $523.20.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE NOC opened at $518.54 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $485.00 and a 200-day simple moving average of $467.07. The company has a market capitalization of $76.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.99. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1 year low of $414.56 and a 1 year high of $528.76.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.93 by $0.43. The business had revenue of $10.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.02 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.61% and a return on equity of 25.44%. The business’s revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $5.34 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 3rd will be issued a $2.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.59%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.62%.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In related news, 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 value of $695,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 4,634 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,317,000. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $695,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 4,634 shares in the company, valued at $2,317,000. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,389 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 6,755 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,225,917.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 2,846 shares of company stock worth $1,393,028. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

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.