Sanders Capital LLC Purchases 2,989 Shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC

Sanders Capital LLC raised its position in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) by 0.2% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 1,831,238 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,989 shares during the period. Sanders Capital LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $885,367,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of NOC. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,169,195 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $6,707,203,000 after purchasing an additional 168,267 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the second quarter valued at approximately $6,001,616,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the second quarter valued at $1,298,141,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.6% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 960,690 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $655,373,000 after purchasing an additional 5,811 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 2.2% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 747,121 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $380,516,000 after purchasing an additional 16,195 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

NOC stock traded up $0.46 during trading on Friday, hitting $525.71. The company had a trading volume of 1,192,167 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,006,915. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $519.36 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $588.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The company has a market cap of $74.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of -0.13. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $470.06 and a fifty-two week high of $774.00.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 20th. The aerospace company reported $7.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.18 by $0.71. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 23.46% and a net margin of 10.37%. The firm had revenue of $11.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.14 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $7.67 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 29.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 31st were issued a $2.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 31st. This represents a $9.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.17%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NOC has been the subject of several research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on Northrop Grumman from $556.00 to $590.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 27th. Rothschild & Co Redburn started coverage on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $680.00 price target on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $533.00 to $538.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $694.00 to $698.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $745.00 to $765.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 21st. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $643.74.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In related news, Director Mark Welsh, III sold 98 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $555.65, for a total transaction of $54,453.70. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 4,314 shares in the company, valued at $2,397,074.10. This trade represents a 2.22% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

About Northrop Grumman

Northrop Grumman Corporation is a U.S.-based aerospace and defense company that develops and produces systems for government and commercial customers. Its business spans aeronautics, defense, mission technologies and space, including military aircraft, autonomous systems, missile and air-defense capabilities, sensors, communications and satellites.

The company is the prime contractor for the B-21 Raider and is developing the Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile system. It also supplies technologies and components for other defense programs, as well as launch vehicles, propulsion systems and spacecraft.

Northrop Grumman traces its roots to Northrop Aircraft, founded in 1939, and Grumman, founded in 1930; the two companies combined in 1994.