Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Shares Bought by Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd raised its position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 1.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 13,836 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 138 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $6,477,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 10.1% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,488,412 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,975,754,000 after acquiring an additional 410,736 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 3.5% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,194,298 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,846,289,000 after acquiring an additional 142,036 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 29.2% during the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,605,679 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $706,804,000 after acquiring an additional 362,515 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 30.1% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,567,612 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $723,799,000 after acquiring an additional 362,449 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 6.8% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,244,324 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $547,739,000 after acquiring an additional 79,263 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $505.00 to $475.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $450.00 price target (down from $515.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Friday, January 26th. StockNews.com lowered Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Susquehanna decreased their price target on Northrop Grumman from $560.00 to $540.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Alembic Global Advisors raised Northrop Grumman from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $532.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $497.23.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:NOC opened at $462.58 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $68.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.32, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.15. Northrop Grumman Co. has a one year low of $414.56 and a one year high of $496.89. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $459.71 and its 200 day simple moving average is $464.77.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.27 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.80 by $0.47. The business had revenue of $10.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.43 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 23.07% and a net margin of 5.23%. The company’s revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $7.50 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 24.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 26th were issued a dividend of $1.87 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 23rd. This represents a $7.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.62%. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is currently 55.49%.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 1,273 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.37, for a total transaction of $573,321.01. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,735 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,231,761.95. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 711 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $453.22, for a total transaction of $322,239.42. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $917,317.28. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 1,273 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.37, for a total value of $573,321.01. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 2,735 shares in the company, valued at $1,231,761.95. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 3,149 shares of company stock worth $1,421,147. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.