Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Shares Purchased by Gulf International Bank UK Ltd

Gulf International Bank UK Ltd boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 1,402.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 12,925 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 12,065 shares during the quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $6,186,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Red Spruce Capital LLC grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 12.6% in the first quarter. Red Spruce Capital LLC now owns 3,164 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,514,000 after buying an additional 355 shares during the last quarter. American National Bank raised its stake in Northrop Grumman by 150.4% during the 1st quarter. American National Bank now owns 1,938 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $928,000 after purchasing an additional 1,164 shares during the period. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC raised its stake in Northrop Grumman by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC now owns 5,358 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,565,000 after purchasing an additional 237 shares during the period. Stolper Co raised its stake in Northrop Grumman by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Stolper Co now owns 14,086 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $6,742,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Finally, Alaska Permanent Fund Corp acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the 1st quarter valued at $807,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Alembic Global Advisors raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $532.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $475.00 to $505.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $477.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Friday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $530.00 to $500.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $506.15.

Northrop Grumman Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:NOC opened at $432.09 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $63.94 billion, a PE ratio of 30.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.35. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1 year low of $414.56 and a 1 year high of $496.89. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $458.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $460.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.77 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $5.50 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 24.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 28th were paid a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 24th. This is a boost from Northrop Grumman’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.87. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.62%.

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.