Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. Has $20.77 Million Stock Holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 1.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 44,364 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 703 shares during the quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $20,769,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake 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 worth $1,975,754,000 after buying an additional 410,736 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 3.5% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,194,298 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,846,289,000 after acquiring an additional 142,036 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Northrop Grumman by 6.8% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,244,324 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $547,739,000 after acquiring an additional 79,263 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 74.7% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,174,556 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $517,028,000 after buying an additional 502,060 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its position in Northrop Grumman by 2.5% in the third quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 867,137 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $381,705,000 after purchasing an additional 21,501 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on NOC. Susquehanna increased their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $475.00 to $505.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Alembic Global Advisors upgraded Northrop Grumman from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $532.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $483.00 to $518.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $514.33.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NOC stock traded up $1.27 on Friday, reaching $466.43. 420,855 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 859,820. The company 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. The company has a 50-day moving average of $468.68 and a 200-day moving average of $465.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.02. Northrop Grumman Co. has a one year low of $414.56 and a one year high of $496.89.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.83 by $0.49. The company had revenue of $10.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.77 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.38% and a return on equity of 24.09%. The business’s revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $5.50 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 24.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

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

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.