Jump Financial LLC Increases Stock Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Jump Financial LLC raised its position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 37.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 694 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 190 shares during the period. Jump Financial LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $325,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of NOC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Northrop Grumman by 10.1% in the 3rd 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 period. Morgan Stanley grew its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 3.5% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,194,298 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,846,289,000 after purchasing an additional 142,036 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased 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 worth $547,739,000 after purchasing an additional 79,263 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 74.7% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,174,556 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $517,028,000 after purchasing an additional 502,060 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 867,137 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $381,705,000 after buying an additional 21,501 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of Northrop Grumman stock opened at $466.43 on Friday. Northrop Grumman Co. has a fifty-two week low of $414.56 and a fifty-two week high of $496.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $69.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.62, a PEG ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.34. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $468.68 and a 200 day moving average of $465.09.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.83 by $0.49. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 24.09% and a net margin of 5.38%. The firm had revenue of $10.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.77 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $5.50 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 24.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 28th will be issued a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 24th. This is an increase from Northrop Grumman’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.87. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.31%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on NOC. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $483.00 to $518.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Alembic Global Advisors raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $532.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $514.33.

Northrop Grumman 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.