Pathstone Holdings LLC Boosts Stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Pathstone Holdings LLC raised its position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 11.0% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 18,562 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,844 shares during the period. Pathstone Holdings LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $9,802,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NOC. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in Northrop Grumman by 1,915.9% in the 2nd 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 during the period. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the second quarter worth approximately $90,177,000. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the second quarter worth approximately $74,206,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 113.6% during the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 296,844 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $129,409,000 after acquiring an additional 157,854 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 16.0% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,087,913 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $474,276,000 after acquiring an additional 150,367 shares during the period. 83.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 0.2 %

NYSE NOC opened at $491.98 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $521.50 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $486.48. The stock has a market cap of $71.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 0.35. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12-month low of $418.60 and a 12-month high of $555.57. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.07 by $0.93. The business had revenue of $10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.18 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.79% and a return on equity of 26.57%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $6.18 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total transaction of $616,067.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $286,183.41. This trade represents a 68.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 1,289 shares of company stock valued at $685,273. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $592.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. TD Cowen raised shares of Northrop Grumman to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Susquehanna raised their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $560.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $521.00 to $587.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $550.56.

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.