Raymond James & Associates Boosts Stock Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Raymond James & Associates lifted its position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 233,703 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,089 shares during the quarter. Raymond James & Associates owned about 0.16% of Northrop Grumman worth $123,412,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of NOC. Diversify Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the 1st quarter worth about $870,000. Norden Group LLC acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman in the first quarter valued at approximately $778,000. Aviso Wealth Management boosted its position in Northrop Grumman by 110.7% in the 2nd quarter. Aviso Wealth Management now owns 1,896 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $827,000 after purchasing an additional 996 shares in the last quarter. Susquehanna International Securities Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,133,000. Finally, State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 9.8% during the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 160,328 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $74,027,000 after purchasing an additional 14,275 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $521.00 to $587.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. BTIG Research initiated coverage on Northrop Grumman in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. They set a “buy” rating and a $565.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com raised Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 12th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $467.00 to $509.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $535.00.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

NOC opened at $530.79 on Monday. Northrop Grumman Co. has a twelve month low of $418.60 and a twelve month high of $555.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $78.55 billion, a PE ratio of 37.12, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.34. 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’s 50-day moving average price is $521.74 and its 200 day moving average price is $479.08.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.93 by $0.43. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 25.44% and a net margin of 5.61%. The business had revenue of $10.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.02 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $5.34 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 dividend yield of 1.55%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 3rd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.62%.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In related news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of the firm’s 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 directly owns 4,634 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,317,000. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $2,317,000. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 6,755 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,225,917.80. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 2,879 shares of company stock worth $1,410,703 in the last quarter. Company 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.