Sanders Capital LLC Boosts Stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Sanders Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 0.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,282,730 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 1,371 shares during the quarter. Northrop Grumman comprises 1.7% of Sanders Capital LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Sanders Capital LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $1,205,441,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Caxton Associates LP purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the first quarter worth about $864,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,340,000. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.4% in the first quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 233,602 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $111,816,000 after purchasing an additional 979 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 10.2% during the first quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 4,081 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,952,000 after purchasing an additional 377 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Beacon Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 33.8% during the first quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 313 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $150,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Trading Down 2.3 %

Shares of Northrop Grumman stock opened at $485.27 on Tuesday. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1 year low of $418.60 and a 1 year high of $555.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $519.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $487.03. The company has a market capitalization of $70.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 0.35.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.07 by $0.93. The business had revenue of $10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.18 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.57% and a net margin of 5.79%. The business’s revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $6.18 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a dividend of $2.06 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.70%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.05%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on NOC. StockNews.com cut shares of Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $521.00 to $587.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. TD Cowen upgraded Northrop Grumman to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $550.56.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total value of $616,067.08. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $286,183.41. The trade was a 68.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 1,289 shares of company stock valued at $685,273 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

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.