ProShare Advisors LLC Acquires 5,285 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 29.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 23,230 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,285 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $10,127,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Optimum Investment Advisors grew its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 241.2% during the 2nd quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 58 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 245.5% in the second quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 76 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman during the 1st quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Riverview Trust Co acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman during the 1st quarter worth $47,000. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barclays boosted 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. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $530.00 to $500.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. Alembic Global Advisors cut shares of Northrop Grumman from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $560.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $440.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $467.00 to $509.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $523.20.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $695,000.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 4,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,317,000. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Northrop Grumman news, 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 transaction of $663,330.84. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 6,755 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,225,917.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $695,000.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 4,634 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,317,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 2,846 shares of company stock worth $1,393,028 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Trading Down 0.6 %

NYSE NOC opened at $529.80 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $499.98 and its 200-day moving average is $470.88. Northrop Grumman Co. has a one year low of $414.56 and a one year high of $534.61. The firm has a market cap of $78.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.34.

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

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were paid a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 3rd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is 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.