Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. grew its stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 119.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 408 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 222 shares during the quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $218,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. PDS Planning Inc lifted its position in Northrop Grumman by 5.4% during the third quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 664 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $351,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Northrop Grumman by 2.4% during the third quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 57,785 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $30,515,000 after buying an additional 1,366 shares during the period. National Pension Service lifted its position in Northrop Grumman by 12.5% during the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 357,466 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $188,767,000 after buying an additional 39,628 shares during the period. Old North State Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Northrop Grumman by 61.2% during the third quarter. Old North State Wealth Management LLC now owns 906 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $480,000 after buying an additional 344 shares during the period. Finally, Citizens National Bank Trust Department lifted its position in Northrop Grumman by 3.7% during the third quarter. Citizens National Bank Trust Department now owns 4,714 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,489,000 after buying an additional 170 shares during the period. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

NOC stock opened at $507.44 on Tuesday. 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 1 year low of $418.60 and a 1 year high of $555.57. The firm has a market cap of $73.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.35. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $523.43 and a 200-day simple moving average of $483.68.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.18 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $6.18 EPS. Northrop Grumman’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were paid a dividend of $2.06 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.62%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.05%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on NOC shares. Barclays upped their price target on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Citigroup upped their price target on Northrop Grumman from $521.00 to $587.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $474.00 to $575.00 in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Alembic Global Advisors lowered Northrop Grumman from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $560.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Finally, Susquehanna upped their price target on Northrop Grumman from $560.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $550.56.

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.