Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Stock Position Decreased by Capital Advisors Inc. OK

Capital Advisors Inc. OK decreased its position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 17.9% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,030 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 225 shares during the quarter. Capital Advisors Inc. OK’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $544,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Optimum Investment Advisors increased its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 241.2% during the 2nd quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 58 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 245.5% in the second quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 76 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 281.5% during the 1st quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 103 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $52,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:NOC opened at $506.95 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $73.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.35. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $523.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $483.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.97. Northrop Grumman Co. has a fifty-two week low of $418.60 and a fifty-two week high of $555.57.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.07 by $0.93. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.79% and a return on equity of 26.57%. The company had revenue of $10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.18 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $6.18 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were issued a $2.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.63%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 51.05%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on NOC. UBS Group upped their price target on Northrop Grumman from $614.00 to $643.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Susquehanna increased their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $560.00 to $625.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Citigroup upped 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price 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 research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $550.56.

About Northrop Grumman

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.