Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Shares Purchased by Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV

Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 215,363 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,906 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $93,887,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Accretive Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 10.5% during the 4th quarter. Accretive Wealth Partners LLC now owns 528 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $247,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 21.9% during the 4th quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 557 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $241,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Jump Financial LLC increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 37.7% during the 4th quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 694 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $325,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the period. Financial Advocates Investment Management purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter worth about $266,000. Finally, Brown Advisory Inc. increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 14,696 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $6,880,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Down 0.0 %

Northrop Grumman stock opened at $521.07 on Wednesday. Northrop Grumman Co. has a twelve month low of $414.56 and a twelve month high of $528.76. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $490.48 and a two-hundred day moving average of $468.51. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $77.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.44, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.34.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.93 by $0.43. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 25.44% and a net margin of 5.61%. The company had revenue of $10.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.02 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $5.34 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd will be given a dividend of $2.06 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.58%. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is 57.62%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on NOC shares. StockNews.com upgraded Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 12th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $467.00 to $509.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $592.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $440.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $523.20.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $695,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 4,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,317,000. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,389 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $477.56, for a total value of $663,330.84. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 6,755 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,225,917.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $695,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 4,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,317,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 2,846 shares of company stock valued at $1,393,028. 0.22% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.