Wellington Management Group LLP Raises Holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 0.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,140,892 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 17,596 shares during the quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP owned approximately 2.84% of Northrop Grumman worth $2,186,681,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Optimum Investment Advisors grew its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 241.2% in the 2nd 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. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman during the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman during the 3rd quarter worth about $36,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Northrop Grumman by 245.5% in the 2nd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 76 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 3rd quarter worth about $40,000. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

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. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,222 shares of company stock valued at $650,575. 0.22% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $614.00 to $643.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $509.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $521.00 to $587.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $550.56.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NOC opened at $479.57 on Friday. Northrop Grumman Co. has a one year low of $418.60 and a one year high of $555.57. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $513.61 and a 200-day moving average of $487.60. The company has a market capitalization of $69.87 billion, a PE ratio of 29.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.09.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.07 by $0.93. The company 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 for the quarter was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $6.18 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.72%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.