Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Shares Purchased by Fisher Asset Management LLC

Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 7,574.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 123,637 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 122,026 shares during the quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC owned 0.08% of Northrop Grumman worth $57,879,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 960.0% during the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 53 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC lifted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 247.6% during the 4th quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 73 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Providence Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 400.0% during the 3rd quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 0.2 %

NYSE NOC opened at $424.09 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $460.89 and its 200 day moving average price is $462.48. The company has a market capitalization of $62.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.35. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12 month low of $414.56 and a 12 month high of $496.89.

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 the consensus estimate of $5.83 by $0.49. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.38% and a return on equity of 24.09%. The company had revenue of $10.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.77 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $5.50 EPS. Northrop Grumman’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 24.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 28th were given a dividend of $2.06 per share. This is an increase from Northrop Grumman’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.87. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 24th. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.62%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on NOC shares. Susquehanna increased their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $475.00 to $505.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Alembic Global Advisors upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $532.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $514.33.

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.