Founders Financial Alliance LLC Boosts Stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Founders Financial Alliance LLC increased its position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 8.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 603 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 45 shares during the period. Founders Financial Alliance LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $282,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NOC. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter worth approximately $283,114,000. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 74.7% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,174,556 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $517,028,000 after purchasing an additional 502,060 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 10.1% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,488,412 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,975,754,000 after purchasing an additional 410,736 shares during the last quarter. London Co. of Virginia purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 3rd quarter valued at $165,786,000. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 2,801.7% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 330,499 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $154,720,000 after purchasing an additional 319,109 shares during the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NOC traded up $1.27 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $466.43. The company had a trading volume of 420,855 shares, compared to its average volume of 859,820. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $468.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $465.09. The stock has a market cap of $69.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.62, a PEG ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.34. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52 week low of $414.56 and a 52 week high of $496.89. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.83 by $0.49. The firm had revenue of $10.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.77 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.38% and a return on equity of 24.09%. Northrop Grumman’s revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $5.50 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 24.7 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 28th will be issued a dividend of $2.06 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 24th. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.77%. This is a positive change from Northrop Grumman’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.87. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is currently 52.31%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on NOC shares. Alembic Global Advisors raised Northrop Grumman from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $532.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. StockNews.com raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $475.00 to $505.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $483.00 to $518.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $514.33.

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.