New England Research & Management Inc. Boosts Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

New England Research & Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 29.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,497 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 575 shares during the quarter. New England Research & Management Inc.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $1,138,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cibc World Market Inc. raised its position in Northrop Grumman by 59.4% in the first quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 7,390 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $3,305,000 after acquiring an additional 2,753 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 41.4% in the 1st quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 3,445 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,541,000 after purchasing an additional 1,008 shares in the last quarter. Prudential PLC bought a new position in Northrop Grumman in the 1st quarter worth $1,514,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in Northrop Grumman by 21.6% during the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,390 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $622,000 after purchasing an additional 247 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zions Bancorporation N.A. grew its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 11.0% during the first quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 1,890 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $845,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on NOC. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $581.00 to $569.00 in a research report on Friday, June 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $448.00 to $485.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, July 31st. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 price target on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Thursday, August 3rd. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $502.00 to $485.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 28th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $506.40.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Shares of NOC traded up $1.68 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $427.99. 46,136 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 841,190. The company has a market cap of $64.75 billion, a PE ratio of 14.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.69 and a beta of 0.52. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52-week low of $416.71 and a 52-week high of $556.27. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $440.07 and a two-hundred day moving average of $449.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.20.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 27th. The aerospace company reported $5.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.31 by $0.03. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 12.27% and a return on equity of 24.90%. The firm had revenue of $9.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.32 billion. On average, equities analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 22.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 28th were issued a $1.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 25th. This represents a $7.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.75%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.78%.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In other news, VP Mark A. Caylor sold 1,670 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $437.87, for a total value of $731,242.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,570 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,379,765.90. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

About Northrop Grumman

Northrop Grumman Corporation operates as an aerospace and defense company worldwide. The company's Aeronautics Systems segment designs, develops, manufactures, integrates, and sustains aircraft systems in the United States and internationally. 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.