Versor Investments LP Has $886,000 Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Versor Investments LP cut its holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 56.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,677 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 2,199 shares during the quarter. Versor Investments LP’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $886,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Optimum Investment Advisors boosted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 241.2% in the second quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 58 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 245.5% in the second quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 76 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the period. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 3rd quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 2nd quarter valued at about $52,000. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on NOC shares. Susquehanna upped their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $560.00 to $625.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Barclays raised their price target on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $614.00 to $643.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $550.56.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

NYSE:NOC opened at $531.38 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.09. Northrop Grumman Co. has a fifty-two week low of $418.60 and a fifty-two week high of $555.57. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $523.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $485.43. The company has a market capitalization of $77.42 billion, a PE ratio of 32.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.35.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced 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 company had revenue of $10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.18 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.57% and a net margin of 5.79%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $6.18 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were issued a $2.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.55%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.05%.

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.