Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Shares Purchased by Meeder Asset Management Inc.

Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 245.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 76 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 54 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $33,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1,402.9% in the 1st quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd now owns 12,925 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $6,186,000 after purchasing an additional 12,065 shares during the period. Diversify Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the first quarter worth approximately $870,000. Norden Group LLC purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the first quarter worth approximately $778,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised 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 valued at $57,879,000 after acquiring an additional 122,026 shares during the period. Finally, Red Mountain Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter valued at $264,000. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on NOC shares. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $530.00 to $500.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. StockNews.com upgraded Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 12th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $592.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Barclays increased their price target on Northrop Grumman from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Northrop Grumman from $467.00 to $509.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $523.20.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of Northrop Grumman stock opened at $519.78 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.99. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1-year low of $414.56 and a 1-year high of $528.76. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $486.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $467.61. The company has a market capitalization of $76.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.35, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.34.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.93 by $0.43. The business had revenue of $10.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.02 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.61% and a return on equity of 25.44%. The company’s revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $5.34 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.14 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 3rd will be paid a dividend of $2.06 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.59%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is presently 57.62%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,389 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $477.56, for a total transaction of $663,330.84. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 6,755 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,225,917.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $695,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 4,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,317,000. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,389 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $477.56, for a total transaction of $663,330.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 6,755 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,225,917.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 2,846 shares of company stock valued at $1,393,028 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

About Northrop Grumman

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.