EP Wealth Advisors LLC Increases Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

EP Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 6.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,433 shares of the aerospace company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,095 shares during the quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $10,262,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 0.4% during the third 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 during the period. Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 16.0% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,087,913 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $474,276,000 after acquiring an additional 150,367 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.4% in 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 in the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 102.6% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 735,600 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $388,448,000 after purchasing an additional 372,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 22.4% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 683,427 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $297,937,000 after purchasing an additional 125,262 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company's stock.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NOC traded down $5.92 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $473.65. The stock had a trading volume of 915,772 shares, compared to its average volume of 730,586. The business's 50 day moving average price is $512.54 and its 200 day moving average price is $487.83. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1 year low of $418.60 and a 1 year high of $555.57. The company has a market cap of $69.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00.

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

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a $2.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.74%. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.05%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on NOC shares. StockNews.com upgraded Northrop Grumman from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $521.00 to $587.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Susquehanna raised their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $560.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $614.00 to $643.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $550.56.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total value of $616,067.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 537 shares in the company, valued at approximately $286,183.41. The trade was a 68.28 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In the last three months, insiders have sold 1,255 shares of company stock worth $666,461. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.