Congress Asset Management Co. MA Decreases Stock Holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Congress Asset Management Co. MA decreased its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 99.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 837 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 114,437 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co. MA’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $400,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. London Co. of Virginia purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter valued at $165,786,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 7,574.5% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 123,637 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $57,879,000 after acquiring an additional 122,026 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. increased its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 19.7% in the 4th quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 16,515 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $7,731,000 after acquiring an additional 2,723 shares during the last quarter. Red Mountain Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter worth $264,000. Finally, Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT increased its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 6.3% in the 4th quarter. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT now owns 116,442 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $54,511,000 after acquiring an additional 6,898 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

NYSE NOC opened at $432.09 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $63.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.35. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average of $458.20 and a two-hundred day moving average of $460.76. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1-year low of $414.56 and a 1-year high of $496.89.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.83 by $0.49. The company had revenue of $10.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.77 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 24.09% and a net margin of 5.38%. Northrop Grumman’s revenue was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $5.50 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 24.7 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Stockholders 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%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded Northrop Grumman from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $477.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Friday. StockNews.com raised Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Northrop Grumman from $483.00 to $518.00 in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $530.00 to $500.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $506.15.

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.