Continuum Advisory LLC Has $1.02 Million Holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Continuum Advisory LLC lifted its stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC – Get Rating) by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,864 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 24 shares during the period. Continuum Advisory LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $1,017,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 14,366,015 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $6,756,624,000 after purchasing an additional 122,593 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,131,490 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $5,705,682,000 after purchasing an additional 100,116 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 65.9% during the 3rd quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,142,005 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,007,854,000 after purchasing an additional 851,071 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,409,862 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $663,087,000 after purchasing an additional 29,441 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 29.9% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,054,897 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $575,562,000 after purchasing an additional 242,658 shares in the last quarter. 84.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on NOC shares. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $615.00 to $535.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 27th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Northrop Grumman in a research report on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Northrop Grumman from $465.00 to $400.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 27th. 22nd Century Group restated a “maintains” rating on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Friday, April 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Northrop Grumman from $626.00 to $601.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $509.00.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE:NOC traded up $5.55 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $439.06. The company had a trading volume of 189,358 shares, compared to its average volume of 937,706. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $455.99 and its 200 day moving average price is $480.65. The stock has a market cap of $66.68 billion, a PE ratio of 14.02, a P/E/G ratio of 5.15 and a beta of 0.50. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1-year low of $429.10 and a 1-year high of $556.27.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC – Get Rating) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 27th. The aerospace company reported $5.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.16 by $0.34. The business had revenue of $9.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.19 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.61% and a net margin of 12.89%. Northrop Grumman’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $6.10 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 22.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 30th will be issued a dividend of $1.87 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 26th. This represents a $7.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.70%. This is a boost from Northrop Grumman’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.73. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.39%.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In related news, VP Mark A. Caylor sold 2,810 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $467.58, for a total value of $1,313,899.80. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 16,240 shares in the company, valued at $7,593,499.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Northrop Grumman news, VP David T. Perry sold 3,999 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $469.65, for a total transaction of $1,878,130.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 8,717 shares in the company, valued at $4,093,939.05. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Mark A. Caylor sold 2,810 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $467.58, for a total transaction of $1,313,899.80. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 16,240 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,593,499.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Profile

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Northrop Grumman Corp. engages in the provision of advanced aircraft systems. It operates through the following segments: Aeronautics Systems, Defense Systems, Mission Systems, and Space Systems. The Aeronautics Systems segment is involved in the design, development, production, integration, sustainment, and modernization of advanced aircraft systems for the U.S.