Victory Capital Management Inc. Grows Holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 64,016 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 653 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $29,968,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of NOC. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 8.3% in the 3rd quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,373 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $604,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Cambridge Trust Co. grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 92.5% in the third quarter. Cambridge Trust Co. now owns 308 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $136,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 5.9% during the third quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 15,564 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $6,851,000 after acquiring an additional 863 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 18,671 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $8,219,000 after purchasing an additional 637 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NBT Bank N A NY bought a new position in Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter worth about $368,000. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 1.0 %

NOC opened at $473.53 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $465.45 and a 200 day moving average of $465.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12 month low of $414.56 and a 12 month high of $496.89. The firm has a market cap of $70.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.34.

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

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 26th were given a $1.87 dividend. This represents a $7.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 23rd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 52.31%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $483.00 to $518.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Alembic Global Advisors upgraded Northrop Grumman from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $532.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. 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. TheStreet downgraded Northrop Grumman from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $509.38.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 210 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $454.68, for a total transaction of $95,482.80. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,127 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,421,784.36. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 1,273 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.37, for a total transaction of $573,321.01. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 2,735 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,231,761.95. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 210 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $454.68, for a total transaction of $95,482.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,127 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,421,784.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 3,149 shares of company stock valued at $1,421,147 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Company 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.