Smith Thornton Advisors LLC Buys New Stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Smith Thornton Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 822 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $358,000.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in 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 lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1,915.9% during the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 438,521 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $191,173,000 after purchasing an additional 416,768 shares in the last quarter. Focused Investors Fund L P purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the first quarter valued at approximately $108,369,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 4.8% in the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,634,043 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,218,132,000 after purchasing an additional 211,459 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eagle Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $97,866,000. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of Northrop Grumman 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 4,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,317,000. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $695,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 4,634 shares in the company, valued at $2,317,000. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,389 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $477.56, for a total value of $663,330.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 6,755 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,225,917.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 2,846 shares of company stock valued at $1,393,028. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Northrop Grumman Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:NOC opened at $524.31 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $503.43 and a 200-day simple moving average of $471.65. The company has a market capitalization of $77.59 billion, a PE ratio of 36.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.34. Northrop Grumman Co. has a twelve month low of $414.56 and a twelve month high of $534.61.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.93 by $0.43. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.61% and a return on equity of 25.44%. The firm had revenue of $10.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.02 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $5.34 earnings per share. Northrop Grumman’s quarterly revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.14 EPS for the current fiscal 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 paid a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is currently 57.62%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NOC has been the topic of a number of research reports. Alembic Global Advisors lowered shares of Northrop Grumman from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $560.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $592.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Northrop Grumman from $593.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced 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, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $523.20.

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.