Coastwise Capital Group LLC Takes Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Coastwise Capital Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 589 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $311,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1,915.9% in the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 438,521 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $191,173,000 after purchasing an additional 416,768 shares during the period. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $90,177,000. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $74,206,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 113.6% in the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 296,844 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $129,409,000 after buying an additional 157,854 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc boosted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 16.0% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,087,913 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $474,276,000 after buying an additional 150,367 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of NOC stock opened at $489.65 on Monday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $71.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.35. Northrop Grumman Co. has a one year low of $418.60 and a one year high of $555.57. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $517.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $487.46.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 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 business had revenue of $10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.18 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $6.18 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.93 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.68%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.05%.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In related news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 537 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 can be accessed through this link. In the last quarter, insiders sold 1,255 shares of company stock worth $667,727. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $521.00 to $587.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Barclays raised their price target on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Morgan Stanley lifted 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. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $614.00 to $643.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. One research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $550.56.

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.