Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Shares Purchased by Bank of Montreal Can

Bank of Montreal Can grew its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 231,736 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,723 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can owned about 0.16% of Northrop Grumman worth $122,076,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,340,000. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 10.2% during the 1st quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 4,081 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,952,000 after acquiring an additional 377 shares during the last quarter. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC grew its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 44.3% during the 1st quarter. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC now owns 651 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $312,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 2,861.3% in the 1st quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 2,369 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,134,000 after purchasing an additional 2,289 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LRI Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 1st quarter valued at about $384,000. 83.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on NOC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Susquehanna raised their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $560.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $509.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $521.00 to $587.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $550.56.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total value of $616,067.08. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 537 shares in the company, valued at $286,183.41. The trade was a 68.28 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,289 shares of company stock worth $685,273. 0.22% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Shares of NOC opened at $488.43 on Wednesday. Northrop Grumman Co. has a one year low of $418.60 and a one year high of $555.57. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $519.22 and its 200-day moving average is $487.12. 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 capitalization of $71.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.35.

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. The firm had revenue of $10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.18 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.79% and a return on equity of 26.57%. Northrop Grumman’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $6.18 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.93 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a dividend of $2.06 per share. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.69%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is currently 51.05%.

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.