Maj Invest Holding A S Makes New Investment in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC)

Maj Invest Holding A S purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 180 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $92,000.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,677,781 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $5,949,556,000 after acquiring an additional 56,807 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 8,239,434 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $3,866,133,000 after purchasing an additional 461,307 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Northrop Grumman by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,164,700 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,954,452,000 after purchasing an additional 23,808 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Northrop Grumman by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,025,263 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,417,850,000 after purchasing an additional 21,903 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,807,223 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,317,402,000 after purchasing an additional 109,308 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 729 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $505.77, for a total transaction of $368,706.33. Following the sale, the vice president owned 7,552 shares in the company, valued at $3,819,575.04. This represents a 8.80% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Roshan S. Roeder sold 991 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $490.00, for a total value of $485,590.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 319 shares in the company, valued at approximately $156,310. The trade was a 75.65% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 16,569 shares of company stock worth $8,322,279 in the last quarter. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 0.9%

NYSE NOC opened at $503.40 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $486.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $484.24. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 12 month low of $422.69 and a 12 month high of $555.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.45 billion, a PE ratio of 19.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.51 and a beta of 0.15. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The aerospace company reported $6.06 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.33 by ($0.27). Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 9.19% and a return on equity of 25.46%. The company had revenue of $9.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.07 billion. On average, analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd were given a dividend of $2.31 per share. This is a positive change from Northrop Grumman’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.06. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $9.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.84%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.46%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $583.00 to $571.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wall Street Zen lowered Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Northrop Grumman from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $424.00 to $521.00 in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $575.00 to $550.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $525.00 price objective on Northrop Grumman and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $552.54.

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.