Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Shares Bought by Royal London Asset Management Ltd.

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. boosted its position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 119,364 shares of the aerospace company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,476 shares during the quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. owned about 0.08% of Northrop Grumman worth $63,033,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in shares of 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 valued at $474,276,000 after buying an additional 150,367 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 3,211 shares during the period. 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 valued at $297,937,000 after acquiring an additional 125,262 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 15.3% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 572,451 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $302,294,000 after purchasing an additional 75,921 shares during the period. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.2% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 443,724 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $229,139,000 after purchasing an additional 5,203 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the company's 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 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 SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders have sold 1,255 shares of company stock worth $666,461 in the last ninety days. 0.22% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Northrop Grumman Stock Down 1.3 %

NOC stock traded down $6.24 during trading on Friday, reaching $473.33. The stock had a trading volume of 915,666 shares, compared to its average volume of 859,670. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $513.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $487.60. 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 company has a market capitalization of $68.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.35, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.33. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1-year low of $418.60 and a 1-year high of $555.57.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $6.18 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a $2.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.74%. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio is presently 51.05%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on NOC shares. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $509.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. 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 report 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, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently 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.