668 Shares in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Acquired by Lee Danner & Bass Inc.

Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund bought 668 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $291,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NOC. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 5.6% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 11,747,646 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $5,623,128,000 after buying an additional 621,636 shares in the last quarter. Focused Investors Fund L P bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the first quarter worth approximately $108,369,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 4.8% during the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,634,043 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,218,132,000 after buying an additional 211,459 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter worth approximately $97,866,000. Finally, Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the second quarter worth approximately $90,177,000. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,317,000. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,389 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 owns 6,755 shares in the company, valued at $3,225,917.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.22% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 0.8 %

NOC stock opened at $523.40 on Friday. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12-month low of $414.56 and a 12-month high of $523.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The company has a market cap of $77.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.60, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a 50 day moving average of $467.68 and a two-hundred day moving average of $462.36.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released 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 business 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%. Northrop Grumman’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $5.34 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd will be issued a dividend of $2.06 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.57%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is currently 57.62%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $474.00 to $575.00 in a report on Monday, July 29th. StockNews.com raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 12th. BTIG Research initiated coverage on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $565.00 price objective for the company. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $530.00 to $500.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $523.20.

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.