Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Shares Purchased by Natixis Advisors L.P.

Natixis Advisors L.P. lifted its position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 4.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 218,770 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,811 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors L.P.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $102,414,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in NOC. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter valued at $283,114,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 74.7% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,174,556 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $517,028,000 after purchasing an additional 502,060 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 10.1% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,488,412 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,975,754,000 after acquiring an additional 410,736 shares in the last quarter. London Co. of Virginia purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 3rd quarter worth about $165,786,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 29.2% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,605,679 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $706,804,000 after acquiring an additional 362,515 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $475.00 to $505.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Alembic Global Advisors raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $532.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Susquehanna increased their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Finally, TheStreet lowered shares of Northrop Grumman from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $509.38.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In other news, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 711 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $453.22, for a total transaction of $322,239.42. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 2,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $917,317.28. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Northrop Grumman news, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 955 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.37, for a total value of $430,103.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,137 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,863,180.69. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 711 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $453.22, for a total transaction of $322,239.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $917,317.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 3,149 shares of company stock worth $1,421,147 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

NOC stock traded down $5.91 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $469.09. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,432,693 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,013,910. The stock has a market cap of $69.42 billion, a PE ratio of 32.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. Northrop Grumman Co. has a fifty-two week low of $414.56 and a fifty-two week high of $496.89. The company’s 50 day moving average is $464.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $465.95.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.32 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.83 by $0.49. The company had revenue of $10.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.77 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.38% and a return on equity of 24.09%. Northrop Grumman’s quarterly revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $5.50 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 24.7 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 26th were issued a dividend of $1.87 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 23rd. This represents a $7.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.59%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is currently 52.31%.

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.