Hilltop Holdings Inc. Grows Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Hilltop Holdings Inc. grew its position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 493.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,578 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,301 shares during the quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $4,002,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Ascent Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 4,337 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,891,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Northrop Grumman by 0.9% in the third quarter. Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 2,141 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,131,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Asset Dedication LLC raised its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 1.0% in the third quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 2,025 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,069,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.4% during the third quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,478 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $780,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PBMares Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. PBMares Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,421 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,335,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on NOC shares. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $521.00 to $587.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. TD Cowen raised Northrop Grumman to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $592.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. StockNews.com lowered Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Northrop Grumman from $509.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” 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 assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $550.56.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total value of $616,067.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,255 shares of company stock worth $667,727. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Down 0.6 %

NYSE:NOC opened at $484.64 on Tuesday. 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 company’s fifty day moving average price is $517.20 and its 200-day moving average price is $487.46. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1-year low of $418.60 and a 1-year high of $555.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.03, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.33.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its quarterly 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. The company 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $6.18 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.93 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

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