Marco Investment Management LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Marco Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 1.2% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 16,450 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Marco Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $8,687,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of NOC. Optimum Investment Advisors increased its holdings 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 valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the period. Bank & Trust Co purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman in the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 245.5% in the second quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 76 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the third quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 2nd quarter valued at about $52,000. 83.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 0.1 %

NOC stock opened at $496.87 on Friday. 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 fifty day simple moving average is $520.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $486.84. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12 month low of $418.60 and a 12 month high of $555.57. The company has a market capitalization of $72.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 0.35.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.07 by $0.93. The company had revenue of $10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.18 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.57% and a net margin of 5.79%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $6.18 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.66%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is presently 51.05%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total value of $616,067.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $286,183.41. The trade was a 68.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,289 shares of company stock worth $685,273. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on NOC. Alembic Global Advisors lowered shares of Northrop Grumman from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $560.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Susquehanna increased their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $560.00 to $625.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. TD Cowen raised Northrop Grumman to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Northrop Grumman from $509.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $550.56.

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.