Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Stock Position Raised by Bank of Montreal Can

Bank of Montreal Can raised its position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 4.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 231,736 shares of the aerospace company's stock after buying an additional 9,723 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can owned approximately 0.16% of Northrop Grumman worth $122,076,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of NOC. Optimum Investment Advisors increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 241.2% in 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 bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Northrop Grumman by 245.5% during the second 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 in the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $52,000. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on NOC shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price 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. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Citigroup upped their target price on Northrop Grumman from $521.00 to $587.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. UBS Group raised their price target on Northrop Grumman from $614.00 to $643.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Susquehanna upped their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $560.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock a "positive" 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 and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $550.56.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In other news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the business'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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 537 shares of the company's stock, valued at $286,183.41. The trade was a 68.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders sold a total of 1,289 shares of company stock valued at $685,273 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.22% of the company's stock.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

NYSE:NOC traded up $2.73 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $491.16. 12,958 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 861,505. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $519.22 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $487.12. 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 $71.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.26, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.35. Northrop Grumman Co. has a one year low of $418.60 and a one year high of $555.57.

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

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.68%. Northrop Grumman's payout ratio is currently 51.05%.

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.