Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC Stock Purchased by Rakuten Investment Management Inc.

Rakuten Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) by 9.8% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 24,115 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,143 shares during the period. Rakuten Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $12,169,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Putney Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 4.2% in the third quarter. Putney Financial Group LLC now owns 448 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $217,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the period. Glenview Trust Co increased its stake in Northrop Grumman by 1.1% in the first quarter. Glenview Trust Co now owns 1,796 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,225,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Quadrant Private Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Northrop Grumman by 5.4% during the first quarter. Quadrant Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 392 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $268,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Victrix Investment Advisors lifted its position in Northrop Grumman by 0.8% during the second quarter. Victrix Investment Advisors now owns 2,469 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,257,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Finally, Goepper Burkhardt LLC lifted its position in Northrop Grumman by 4.1% during the first quarter. Goepper Burkhardt LLC now owns 537 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $366,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Down 4.6%

Shares of NYSE:NOC opened at $524.72 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $520.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $590.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $74.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.55, a PEG ratio of 2.96 and a beta of -0.13. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 1 year low of $470.06 and a 1 year high of $774.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.23.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 20th. The aerospace company reported $7.89 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.18 by $0.71. The firm had revenue of $11.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.14 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 10.37% and a return on equity of 23.46%. Northrop Grumman’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $7.67 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 29.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 31st were paid a $2.47 dividend. This represents a $9.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 31st. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In related news, Director Mark Welsh, III sold 98 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction on Monday, November 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $555.65, for a total transaction of $54,453.70. Following the transaction, the director owned 4,314 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,397,074.10. The trade was a 2.22% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $745.00 to $765.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $525.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 21st. TD Cowen decreased their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $590.00 to $540.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $600.00 to $605.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 26th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $419.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $643.74.

About Northrop Grumman

Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) is a global aerospace and defense company that develops and produces systems for government and commercial customers, with the U.S. government representing its primary customer base. The company operates across aerospace, defense, space, cybersecurity and advanced technology markets.

Its products and services include military aircraft and autonomous systems, space systems and satellites, missile defense technologies, command-and-control systems, cyber solutions, sensors, communications networks and other mission-critical systems.