Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Has $1.25 Billion Stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA trimmed its stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 22.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,374,581 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 691,038 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $1,253,945,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NOC. Ascent Group LLC boosted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 4,337 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,891,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 2,141 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,131,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Asset Dedication LLC lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 2,025 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,069,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,478 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $780,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PBMares Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. PBMares Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,421 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,335,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:NOC opened at $491.98 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.09. The firm has a market cap of $71.68 billion, a PE ratio of 30.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.35. Northrop Grumman Co. has a twelve month low of $418.60 and a twelve month high of $555.57. The business has a fifty day moving average of $521.50 and a 200-day moving average of $486.48.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its 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 return on equity of 26.57% and a net margin of 5.79%. The company had revenue of $10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.18 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $6.18 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total transaction of $616,067.08. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 537 shares in the company, valued at $286,183.41. The trade was a 68.28 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In the last three months, insiders sold 1,289 shares of company stock valued at $685,273. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $592.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. TD Cowen raised shares of Northrop Grumman to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently 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.