Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Position Boosted by Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,580 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the period. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $1,890,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NOC. Optimum Investment Advisors grew its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 241.2% during the second quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 58 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the second quarter valued at $28,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 245.5% during the second quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 76 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the 2nd quarter valued at about $47,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on NOC. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of 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 raised Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Susquehanna lifted their target price on Northrop Grumman from $560.00 to $625.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $474.00 to $575.00 in a report on Monday, July 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $550.56.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

NYSE NOC opened at $500.34 on Friday. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1 year low of $418.60 and a 1 year high of $555.57. The business’s fifty day moving average is $524.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $486.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $72.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.09.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.07 by $0.93. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.57% and a net margin of 5.79%. The company had revenue of $10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.18 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $6.18 earnings per share. Northrop Grumman’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were issued a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is 51.05%.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In other news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the firm’s 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. This trade represents a 68.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders have sold a total of 1,289 shares of company stock valued at $685,273 over the last ninety days. Corporate 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.