Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Position Increased by Harbour Investments Inc.

Harbour Investments Inc. increased its stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,264 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the period. Harbour Investments Inc.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $987,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in NOC. Capital International Investors increased its position 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 valued at $5,623,128,000 after purchasing an additional 621,636 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 4.8% in the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,634,043 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,218,132,000 after purchasing an additional 211,459 shares during the period. Capital World Investors increased its stake in Northrop Grumman by 0.6% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,688,511 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,765,543,000 after acquiring an additional 23,398 shares during the period. Sanders Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 2,271,466 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,063,364,000 after buying an additional 80,887 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,260,599 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $590,137,000 after buying an additional 16,275 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of NOC traded down $0.61 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $511.83. 230,700 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 935,690. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.11. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $462.49 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $461.19. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1 year low of $414.56 and a 1 year high of $517.47. The stock has a market cap of $75.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.32.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.93 by $0.43. The company had revenue of $10.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.02 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.61% and a return on equity of 25.44%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $5.34 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 3rd. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is 57.62%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NOC has been the topic of several research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded Northrop Grumman from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $477.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Friday, June 21st. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. TD Cowen upped their target price 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. Alembic Global Advisors lowered shares of Northrop Grumman from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $560.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, BTIG Research began coverage on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. They set a “buy” rating and a $565.00 price objective for the company. One equities 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 company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $523.20.

Insider Activity

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 shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,225,917.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,389 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 6,755 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,225,917.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $2,317,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman 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.