J. W. Coons Advisors LLC Buys New Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

J. W. Coons Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 390 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $206,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in NOC. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 5.6% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 11,747,646 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $5,623,128,000 after buying an additional 621,636 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 1,915.9% during the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 438,521 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $191,173,000 after acquiring an additional 416,768 shares in the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman during the second quarter valued at approximately $90,177,000. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new position in Northrop Grumman in the second quarter valued at approximately $74,206,000. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 113.6% during the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 296,844 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $129,409,000 after purchasing an additional 157,854 shares during the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NOC opened at $493.99 on Monday. 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 has a market cap of $71.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 0.35. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $523.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $486.19. Northrop Grumman Co. has a one year low of $418.60 and a one year high of $555.57.

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

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were given a $2.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.67%. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is 51.05%.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Alembic Global Advisors downgraded Northrop Grumman from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $560.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Susquehanna increased their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $560.00 to $625.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $592.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average 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.