MetLife Investment Management LLC Has $18.88 Million Stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

MetLife Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 35,756 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 1,359 shares during the quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC's holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $18,882,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in NOC. Optimum Investment Advisors lifted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 241.2% during the 2nd quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 58 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co bought a new position in Northrop Grumman in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman during the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its position 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 buying an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter valued at $40,000. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on NOC. Alembic Global Advisors cut Northrop Grumman from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $560.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Susquehanna raised their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $560.00 to $625.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. StockNews.com cut shares of Northrop Grumman from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, UBS Group increased 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $550.56.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:NOC opened at $489.20 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $71.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.31, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.35. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12 month low of $418.60 and a 12 month high of $555.57. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $518.57 and its 200 day simple moving average is $487.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 26.57% and a net margin of 5.79%. The company had revenue of $10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.18 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $6.18 earnings per share. Northrop Grumman's revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a dividend of $2.06 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.68%. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.05%.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In related news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 537 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $286,183.41. This represents a 68.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 1,255 shares of company stock worth $667,727 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.22% of the company's stock.

Northrop Grumman Company 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.

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