Moors & Cabot Inc. Increases Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Moors & Cabot Inc. boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 4.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 5,747 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 245 shares during the quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $3,035,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. AIA Group Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 20.0% in the third quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 7,458 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $3,938,000 after buying an additional 1,242 shares in the last quarter. Aviso Wealth Management raised its position in Northrop Grumman by 110.7% in the second quarter. Aviso Wealth Management now owns 1,896 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $827,000 after acquiring an additional 996 shares during the period. Susquehanna International Securities Ltd. bought a new position in Northrop Grumman in the second quarter worth approximately $1,133,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Northrop Grumman by 133.9% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,248 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $980,000 after acquiring an additional 1,287 shares during the period. Finally, Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. raised its position in Northrop Grumman by 40.8% in the third quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 3,660 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,933,000 after acquiring an additional 1,060 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

NOC stock opened at $491.98 on Thursday. 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. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $521.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $486.48. The stock has a market cap of $71.68 billion, a PE ratio of 30.48, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.35.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 net margin of 5.79% and a return on equity of 26.57%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $6.18 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on NOC. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Susquehanna increased their price target 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised 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 increased their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $592.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $614.00 to $643.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $550.56.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In related news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at $286,183.41. The trade was a 68.28 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In the last quarter, insiders sold 1,289 shares of company stock valued at $685,273. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

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.