Czech National Bank Has $14.79 Million Stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Czech National Bank lifted its position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 5.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 28,004 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,495 shares during the quarter. Czech National Bank’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $14,788,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Optimum Investment Advisors raised its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 241.2% in the second quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 58 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman during the second quarter worth $28,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Northrop Grumman by 245.5% during the second quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 76 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman during the first quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Riverview Trust Co acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman during the first quarter worth $47,000. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $592.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. BTIG Research assumed coverage on Northrop Grumman in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. They set a “buy” rating and a $565.00 target price on the stock. Barclays increased their target price on Northrop Grumman from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. TD Cowen increased their target price on Northrop Grumman from $440.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $523.20.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In other news, 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 directly owns 6,755 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,225,917.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, 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 directly owns 6,755 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,225,917.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 4,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,317,000. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 2,846 shares of company stock worth $1,393,028. 0.22% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Northrop Grumman Stock Down 0.2 %

Northrop Grumman stock traded down $0.84 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $536.74. The stock had a trading volume of 393,951 shares, compared to its average volume of 891,192. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $513.44 and its 200-day simple moving average is $474.77. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1-year low of $414.56 and a 1-year high of $555.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $79.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.11.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $10.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.02 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 25.44% and a net margin of 5.61%. The business’s revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $5.34 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were paid a dividend of $2.06 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.54%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.