Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC Increases Stock Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 16.6% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 935 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 133 shares during the quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $408,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of NOC. Capital International Investors grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 5.6% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 11,747,646 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $5,623,128,000 after purchasing an additional 621,636 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 4.8% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,634,043 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,218,132,000 after acquiring an additional 211,459 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,688,511 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,765,543,000 after acquiring an additional 23,398 shares during the period. Sanders Capital LLC increased its stake in Northrop Grumman by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 2,271,466 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,063,364,000 after purchasing an additional 80,887 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,260,599 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $590,137,000 after purchasing an additional 16,275 shares during the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Northrop Grumman Stock Down 0.2 %

Northrop Grumman stock traded down $1.27 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $506.77. 527,251 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 950,864. 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 company has a 50 day moving average price of $455.83 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $459.48. The firm has a market cap of $75.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.32. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1 year low of $414.56 and a 1 year high of $509.42.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its quarterly 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. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 25.44% and a net margin of 5.61%. The business had revenue of $10.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.02 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $5.34 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on NOC shares. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Northrop Grumman from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $467.00 to $509.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $474.00 to $575.00 in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $475.00 to $505.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $521.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 4,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,317,000. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $695,000.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 4,634 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,317,000. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,389 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $477.56, for a total transaction of $663,330.84. Following the sale, 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. 0.22% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.