L & S Advisors Inc Invests $10.90 Million in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

L & S Advisors Inc acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 20,640 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,899,000. Northrop Grumman comprises 1.1% of L & S Advisors Inc’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest position.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in 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 buying an additional 416,768 shares during the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the second quarter valued at about $90,177,000. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman during the second quarter worth about $74,206,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 113.6% during the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 296,844 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $129,409,000 after acquiring an additional 157,854 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 16.0% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,087,913 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $474,276,000 after acquiring an additional 150,367 shares during the period. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NOC opened at $491.98 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. The business’s 50 day moving average is $521.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $486.48. The company has a market cap of $71.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.48, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.35. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12 month low of $418.60 and a 12 month high of $555.57.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.18 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $6.18 earnings per share. Northrop Grumman’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.93 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NOC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Barclays lifted their target price on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. StockNews.com cut Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $509.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Susquehanna lifted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $560.00 to $625.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $550.56.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total transaction of $616,067.08. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 537 shares in the company, valued at approximately $286,183.41. This represents a 68.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders sold 1,289 shares of company stock worth $685,273 over the last three months. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.