Anchor Investment Management LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Anchor Investment Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 6.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,238 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 82 shares during the quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $540,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 5.6% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 11,747,646 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $5,623,128,000 after purchasing an additional 621,636 shares in the last quarter. 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 purchasing an additional 211,459 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.6% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,688,511 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,765,543,000 after purchasing an additional 23,398 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,260,599 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $590,137,000 after purchasing an additional 16,275 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Putnam Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 1,156,477 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $541,393,000 after purchasing an additional 28,934 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Shares of Northrop Grumman stock opened at $537.43 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The company has a market cap of $79.53 billion, a PE ratio of 37.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.34. The business has a 50 day moving average of $512.31 and a 200 day moving average of $474.26. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52 week low of $414.56 and a 52 week high of $555.57.

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

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were issued a dividend of $2.06 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.53%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is presently 57.62%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on NOC. UBS Group upped 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. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Northrop Grumman from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. TD Cowen upped their target price on Northrop Grumman from $440.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Barclays upped their target price on Northrop Grumman from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Alembic Global Advisors lowered Northrop Grumman from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $560.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. One 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $523.20.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was 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 filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was 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 filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,389 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,225,917.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 2,846 shares of company stock worth $1,393,028. 0.22% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.