Avestar Capital LLC Boosts Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Avestar Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 13.0% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 618 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the quarter. Avestar Capital LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $326,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in Northrop Grumman by 16.0% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,087,913 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $474,276,000 after buying an additional 150,367 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Northrop Grumman by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 809,445 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $427,444,000 after buying an additional 3,211 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 22.4% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 683,427 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $297,937,000 after purchasing an additional 125,262 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 443,724 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $229,139,000 after purchasing an additional 5,203 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service increased its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 12.5% during the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 357,466 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $188,767,000 after purchasing an additional 39,628 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of Northrop Grumman 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 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 1,255 shares of company stock valued at $667,727 in the last 90 days. 0.22% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NOC opened at $489.20 on Thursday. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52-week low of $418.60 and a 52-week high of $555.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $518.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $487.14. The stock has a market cap of $71.28 billion, a PE ratio of 30.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.07 by $0.93. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.79% and a return on equity of 26.57%. The company had revenue of $10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.18 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $6.18 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.68%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.05%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on NOC. Alembic Global Advisors lowered shares of Northrop Grumman from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $560.00 target price for the company. in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. TD Cowen raised shares of Northrop Grumman to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $614.00 to $643.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $550.56.

Northrop Grumman 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.