Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Shares Acquired by Assetmark Inc.

Assetmark Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 8.7% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 16,647 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,327 shares during the quarter. Assetmark Inc.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $8,791,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rovin Capital UT ADV acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the 3rd quarter worth about $556,000. CWA Asset Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the third quarter worth about $351,000. Leavell Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the third quarter valued at approximately $215,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $73,000. Finally, Quantum Private Wealth LLC raised its position in Northrop Grumman by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter. Quantum Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,857 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,509,000 after buying an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $474.00 to $575.00 in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Morgan Stanley lifted 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. Barclays upped their target price on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. TD Cowen upgraded Northrop Grumman to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $509.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $550.56.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 0.9 %

NOC stock opened at $533.70 on Tuesday. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12-month low of $418.60 and a 12-month high of $555.57. The business’s 50-day moving average is $523.76 and its 200 day moving average is $485.11. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. The stock has a market cap of $77.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.07, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.35.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.07 by $0.93. The firm had revenue of $10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.18 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.57% and a net margin of 5.79%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $6.18 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were paid a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.05%.

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.