AIA Group Ltd Purchases 1,242 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

AIA Group Ltd lifted its position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 20.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,458 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 1,242 shares during the period. AIA Group Ltd’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $3,938,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 281.5% during the 1st quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 103 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 5,275 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,525,000 after buying an additional 171 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP raised its position in Northrop Grumman by 173.6% in the 1st quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 6,046 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,894,000 after buying an additional 3,836 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 199.2% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 7,593 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $3,634,000 after acquiring an additional 5,055 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 23.5% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 17,849 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $8,544,000 after acquiring an additional 3,392 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

NOC opened at $520.58 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $75.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.25, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.35. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1-year low of $418.60 and a 1-year high of $555.57. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $523.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $484.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.97.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.07 by $0.93. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.79% and a return on equity of 26.57%. The company had revenue of $10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.18 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $6.18 EPS. Northrop Grumman’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were issued a $2.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.58%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.05%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NOC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $509.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Susquehanna lifted their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $560.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $592.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on Northrop Grumman from $614.00 to $643.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $550.56.

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.