MetLife Investment Management LLC Has $18.88 Million Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

MetLife Investment Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 3.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 35,756 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 1,359 shares during the quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $18,882,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. AIA Group Ltd grew its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 20.0% in the third quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 7,458 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $3,938,000 after purchasing an additional 1,242 shares during the last quarter. Aviso Wealth Management increased its stake in Northrop Grumman by 110.7% in the second quarter. Aviso Wealth Management now owns 1,896 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $827,000 after acquiring an additional 996 shares during the last quarter. Susquehanna International Securities Ltd. acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,133,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 212,514 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $112,222,000 after purchasing an additional 5,334 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 133.9% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,248 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $980,000 after purchasing an additional 1,287 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NOC has been the subject of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $509.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Susquehanna increased their price target on Northrop Grumman from $560.00 to $625.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. UBS Group upped their target price on Northrop Grumman from $614.00 to $643.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $550.56.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 0.2 %

NOC opened at $489.20 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $518.57 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $487.14. The company has a market cap of $71.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.35. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1-year low of $418.60 and a 1-year high of $555.57.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its 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 company had revenue of $10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.18 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $6.18 earnings per share. Northrop Grumman’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a dividend of $2.06 per share. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.68%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.05%.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total transaction of $616,067.08. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 537 shares in the company, valued at approximately $286,183.41. This trade represents a 68.28 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 1,255 shares of company stock valued at $667,727 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

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.