King Luther Capital Management Corp Has $649,000 Stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

King Luther Capital Management Corp increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 7.6% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 1,229 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the period. King Luther Capital Management Corp’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $649,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Optimum Investment Advisors boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 241.2% in the second quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 58 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 245.5% during the 2nd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 76 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $52,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of NOC opened at $496.87 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $72.39 billion, a PE ratio of 30.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 0.35. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $520.60 and a 200-day moving average of $486.84. Northrop Grumman Co. has a one year low of $418.60 and a one year high of $555.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.97.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.07 by $0.93. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.57% and a net margin of 5.79%. The firm had revenue of $10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.18 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $6.18 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.66%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is presently 51.05%.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In related news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total value of $616,067.08. Following the completion of 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 SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,289 shares of company stock worth $685,273. 0.22% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. UBS Group upped their price target on Northrop Grumman from $614.00 to $643.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. TD Cowen raised shares of Northrop Grumman to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $474.00 to $575.00 in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $550.56.

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.