Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Shares Bought by Fisher Asset Management LLC

Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 2.6% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 212,514 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 5,334 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $112,222,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Optimum Investment Advisors lifted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 241.2% in the second quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 58 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 245.5% during the 2nd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 76 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the second quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In other news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total transaction of $616,067.08. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $286,183.41. This represents a 68.28 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders have sold a total of 1,289 shares of company stock worth $685,273 in the last 90 days. 0.22% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of NOC opened at $485.27 on Tuesday. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52 week low of $418.60 and a 52 week high of $555.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.09. The company has a market capitalization of $70.70 billion, a PE ratio of 30.07, a PEG ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 0.35. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $519.87 and its 200 day moving average price is $487.03.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.07 by $0.93. The business had revenue of $10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.18 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.79% and a return on equity of 26.57%. Northrop Grumman’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $6.18 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.70%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is 51.05%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on NOC. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $592.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. StockNews.com cut Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Citigroup raised their price target on Northrop Grumman from $521.00 to $587.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $614.00 to $643.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Alembic Global Advisors cut shares of Northrop Grumman from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $560.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman presently has a consensus 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.