Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Stake Lifted by Cohen Investment Advisors LLC

Cohen Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 15.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,921 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 781 shares during the period. Northrop Grumman accounts for approximately 1.8% of Cohen Investment Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Cohen Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $2,834,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 960.0% during the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 53 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC lifted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 247.6% in the fourth quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 73 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the period. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC bought a new position in Northrop Grumman in the 1st quarter valued at about $38,000. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Northrop Grumman Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of Northrop Grumman stock traded down $0.28 during trading on Thursday, hitting $437.09. The stock had a trading volume of 303,984 shares, compared to its average volume of 961,376. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1 year low of $414.56 and a 1 year high of $496.89. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $453.86 and a 200 day simple moving average of $458.59. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The company has a market capitalization of $64.68 billion, a PE ratio of 30.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.33.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.83 by $0.49. The firm 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 company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $5.50 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 24.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 28th were paid a dividend of $2.06 per share. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.89%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 24th. This is a boost from Northrop Grumman’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.87. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is 57.62%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NOC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $483.00 to $518.00 in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Northrop Grumman from $530.00 to $500.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered Northrop Grumman from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $477.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Friday, June 21st. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Northrop Grumman from $475.00 to $505.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $510.36.

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.