Geode Capital Management LLC Purchases 18,791 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 0.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,003,360 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 18,791 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $1,581,644,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1,915.9% in the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 438,521 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $191,173,000 after acquiring an additional 416,768 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 102.6% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 735,600 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $388,448,000 after acquiring an additional 372,500 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 2nd quarter worth $74,206,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 113.6% in the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc raised 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 acquiring an additional 150,367 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $509.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Alembic Global Advisors lowered Northrop Grumman from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $560.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $521.00 to $587.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Barclays boosted their target price on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, Susquehanna boosted their target price on Northrop Grumman from $560.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $550.56.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the vice president now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 1,255 shares of company stock valued at $666,461 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 0.2 %

Northrop Grumman stock opened at $480.18 on Wednesday. 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 business’s 50-day simple moving average is $511.56 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $487.91. The company has a market cap of $69.96 billion, a PE ratio of 29.75, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.33. Northrop Grumman Co. has a fifty-two week low of $418.60 and a fifty-two week high of $555.57.

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, beating the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 26.57% and a net margin of 5.79%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $6.18 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.93 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a dividend of $2.06 per share. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.05%.

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.