Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Shares Acquired by UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 15.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 572,451 shares of the aerospace company's stock after purchasing an additional 75,921 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC owned about 0.39% of Northrop Grumman worth $302,294,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of NOC. Optimum Investment Advisors raised its stake in Northrop Grumman by 241.2% in the second quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 58 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the second quarter valued at $28,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the third quarter valued at $31,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Northrop Grumman by 245.5% in 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. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the third quarter valued at $40,000. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on NOC shares. StockNews.com cut Northrop Grumman from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Alembic Global Advisors cut Northrop Grumman from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $560.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. TD Cowen upgraded Northrop Grumman to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Northrop Grumman from $509.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $550.56.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

NYSE NOC traded up $0.57 on Friday, hitting $489.65. 336,736 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 861,757. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $517.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $487.24. Northrop Grumman Co. has a fifty-two week low of $418.60 and a fifty-two week high of $555.57. The firm has a market cap of $71.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.35, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.35.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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 company 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 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a dividend of $2.06 per share. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. Northrop Grumman's payout ratio is 51.05%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related 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 value 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,255 shares of company stock worth $667,727. Company 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.