Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC Has $4.97 Million Holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 111.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 9,419 shares of the aerospace company's stock after acquiring an additional 4,964 shares during the quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC's holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $4,974,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of NOC. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.4% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,140,892 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $2,186,681,000 after acquiring an additional 17,596 shares in the last quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 4.4% in the third quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 168,991 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $89,239,000 after acquiring an additional 7,122 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP raised 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 valued at $388,448,000 after acquiring an additional 372,500 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 3.2% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 117,161 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $61,877,000 after acquiring an additional 3,666 shares during the period. Finally, SYM FINANCIAL Corp grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 11.2% in the third quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp now owns 585 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $309,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on NOC. Alembic Global Advisors cut shares of Northrop Grumman from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $560.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. TD Cowen raised shares of Northrop Grumman to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. UBS Group upped 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $550.56.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 1.2 %

Northrop Grumman stock traded up $5.51 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $479.16. The stock had a trading volume of 930,234 shares, compared to its average volume of 859,968. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52 week low of $418.60 and a 52 week high of $555.57. The stock has a market cap of $69.81 billion, a PE ratio of 29.69, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $511.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $487.91. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $6.07 by $0.93. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.57% and a net margin of 5.79%. The firm had revenue of $10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.18 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $6.18 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The business 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 dividend of $2.06 per share. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.72%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio is currently 51.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total transaction of $616,067.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 537 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $286,183.41. This trade represents a 68.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders sold a total of 1,255 shares of company stock worth $666,461 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.22% of the company's stock.

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.