Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Shares Acquired by Signet Investment Advisory Group Inc.

Signet Investment Advisory Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,377 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 165 shares during the period. Signet Investment Advisory Group Inc.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $2,311,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital International Investors lifted its position in Northrop Grumman by 5.6% in 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 during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1,915.9% during the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 438,521 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $191,173,000 after purchasing an additional 416,768 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 4.8% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,634,043 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,218,132,000 after buying an additional 211,459 shares in the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the second quarter valued at $90,177,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP bought a new position in Northrop Grumman during the second quarter valued at about $74,206,000. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

NOC stock opened at $519.35 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $75.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.11. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $523.28 and a 200 day simple moving average of $480.60. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52 week low of $418.60 and a 52 week high of $555.57.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.07 by $0.93. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.61% and a return on equity of 25.44%. The company had revenue of $10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.18 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $6.18 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were given a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is currently 53.79%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on NOC shares. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $521.00 to $587.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $614.00 to $643.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. StockNews.com raised Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Northrop Grumman from $509.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $547.44.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In related news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the vice president now owns 4,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,317,000. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders sold 1,490 shares of company stock valued at $747,372 in the last three months. Corporate 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.