International Assets Investment Management LLC Makes New $622,000 Investment in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 126,027 shares of the aerospace company's stock, valued at approximately $622,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC owned about 0.09% of Northrop Grumman at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of NOC. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,140,892 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $2,186,681,000 after buying an additional 17,596 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,003,360 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,581,644,000 after acquiring an additional 18,791 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 6.2% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,426,270 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,315,729,000 after purchasing an additional 141,816 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in Northrop Grumman by 16.0% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,087,913 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $474,276,000 after purchasing an additional 150,367 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 809,445 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $427,444,000 after purchasing an additional 3,211 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company's stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NOC traded down $3.84 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $458.37. The company had a trading volume of 626,258 shares, compared to its average volume of 761,440. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1 year low of $418.60 and a 1 year high of $555.57. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $484.74 and its 200 day simple moving average is $492.64. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. The stock has a market cap of $66.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.40, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.35.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $6.07 by $0.93. The company had revenue of $10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.18 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.57% and a net margin of 5.79%. The firm's revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $6.18 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a dividend of $2.06 per share. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. Northrop Grumman's payout ratio is 51.05%.

Northrop Grumman announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the aerospace company to reacquire up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on NOC shares. UBS Group raised their price target on Northrop Grumman from $614.00 to $643.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. TD Cowen raised shares of Northrop Grumman to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $625.00 to $557.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $551.40.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total value of $616,067.08. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 537 shares in the company, valued at $286,183.41. This represents a 68.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders have sold 1,255 shares of company stock valued at $663,859 in the last ninety days. 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.