Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB Purchases 1,880 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 274.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,566 shares of the aerospace company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,880 shares during the quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB's holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $1,355,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NOC. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 1,915.9% in the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 438,521 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $191,173,000 after buying an additional 416,768 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 102.6% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 735,600 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $388,448,000 after purchasing an additional 372,500 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the second quarter worth about $74,206,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 113.6% during the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 296,844 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $129,409,000 after purchasing an additional 157,854 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in Northrop Grumman by 16.0% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,087,913 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $474,276,000 after purchasing an additional 150,367 shares during the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NOC has been the topic of several research reports. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $560.00 to $625.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Alembic Global Advisors cut shares of Northrop Grumman from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $560.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price 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. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $553.27.

Northrop Grumman Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of Northrop Grumman stock traded down $1.51 on Friday, reaching $480.00. 699,634 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 861,732. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $506.77 and its 200-day moving average price is $488.20. 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 company has a market cap of $69.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.18 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $6.18 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.93 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.72%. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio is currently 51.05%.

Northrop Grumman announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the aerospace company to reacquire up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the vice president now owns 537 shares in the company, valued at approximately $286,183.41. This represents a 68.28 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In the last quarter, insiders sold 1,255 shares of company stock worth $666,461. 0.22% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.