Intech Investment Management LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Intech Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 96.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 91,928 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 45,151 shares during the quarter. Northrop Grumman comprises approximately 0.5% of Intech Investment Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Intech Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Northrop Grumman worth $40,076,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. XTX Topco Ltd grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 8.1% in the second quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 3,272 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,426,000 after buying an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 4.8% in the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 336,133 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $146,673,000 after buying an additional 15,358 shares in the last quarter. Argent Trust Co grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 2.0% in the second quarter. Argent Trust Co now owns 8,833 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $3,851,000 after buying an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.9% in the second quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 215,363 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $93,887,000 after buying an additional 1,906 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the second quarter valued at about $3,203,000. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $695,000.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 4,634 shares in the company, valued at $2,317,000. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $695,000.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 4,634 shares in the company, valued at $2,317,000. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,389 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $477.56, for a total value of $663,330.84. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 6,755 shares in the company, valued at $3,225,917.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 2,846 shares of company stock valued at $1,393,028. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on NOC shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $467.00 to $509.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Northrop Grumman from $440.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Northrop Grumman from $593.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Barclays lifted their target price on Northrop Grumman from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Alembic Global Advisors lowered Northrop Grumman from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $560.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $523.20.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

NOC opened at $522.36 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $77.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.53, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.34. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1 year low of $414.56 and a 1 year high of $528.76. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $494.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $469.25.

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

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were given a dividend of $2.06 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.58%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is presently 57.62%.

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.