Fortis Capital Advisors LLC Has $2.21 Million Stock Holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Fortis Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 28.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,057 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,106 shares during the period. Northrop Grumman makes up approximately 0.8% of Fortis Capital Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest position. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $2,205,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital International Investors lifted 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 worth $5,623,128,000 after buying an additional 621,636 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1,915.9% in the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 438,521 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $191,173,000 after purchasing an additional 416,768 shares in the last quarter. Focused Investors Fund L P acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $108,369,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings 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 valued at $2,218,132,000 after purchasing an additional 211,459 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eagle Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter worth approximately $97,866,000. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 0.3 %

NOC opened at $522.69 on Wednesday. Northrop Grumman Co. has a twelve month low of $414.56 and a twelve month high of $526.66. The company has a fifty day moving average of $473.24 and a 200-day moving average of $464.11. The stock has a market cap of $77.35 billion, a PE ratio of 36.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 business posted $5.34 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.15 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd will be paid a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.58%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 3rd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.62%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of Northrop Grumman 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now 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 hyperlink. In other Northrop Grumman 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 4,634 shares in the company, valued at $2,317,000. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,389 shares of Northrop Grumman 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 6,755 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,225,917.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 2,813 shares of company stock worth $1,375,877. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on NOC. StockNews.com raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 12th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $593.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. BTIG Research initiated coverage on Northrop Grumman in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $565.00 target price for the company. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $440.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report 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 report on Friday, July 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $523.20.

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.