Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Shares Purchased by AIA Group Ltd

AIA Group Ltd increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 20.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,458 shares of the aerospace company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,242 shares during the quarter. AIA Group Ltd's holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $3,938,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Optimum Investment Advisors increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 241.2% during the 2nd quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 58 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 245.5% in the 2nd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 76 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman during the third quarter worth $40,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 281.5% during the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 103 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company's stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of NOC traded up $8.41 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $528.99. 492,811 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 864,459. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $523.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $484.30. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52-week low of $418.60 and a 52-week high of $555.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $77.07 billion, a PE ratio of 32.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.35. 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 - Get Free Report) last announced 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. The business had revenue of $10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.18 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.79% and a return on equity of 26.57%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $6.18 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were paid a $2.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.56%. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio is currently 51.05%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NOC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Alembic Global Advisors cut Northrop Grumman from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $560.00 target price for the company. in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $474.00 to $575.00 in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $592.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Northrop Grumman from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $550.56.

About Northrop Grumman

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.