Mason & Associates Inc Increases Holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Mason & Associates Inc grew its position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 9.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,306 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 112 shares during the period. Mason & Associates Inc’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $690,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital International Investors increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 5.6% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 11,747,646 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $5,623,128,000 after acquiring an additional 621,636 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1,915.9% during the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 438,521 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $191,173,000 after purchasing an additional 416,768 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Northrop Grumman by 4.8% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,634,043 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,218,132,000 after buying an additional 211,459 shares during the period. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the second quarter worth $90,177,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman in the second quarter valued at $74,206,000. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In other news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,389 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $477.56, for a total value of $663,330.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 6,755 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,225,917.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $695,000.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 4,634 shares in the company, valued at $2,317,000. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,389 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $477.56, for a total value of $663,330.84. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 6,755 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,225,917.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 2,879 shares of company stock valued at $1,410,703. 0.22% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

NYSE:NOC traded up $9.86 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $526.26. 644,477 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 872,117. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.11. The company has a market cap of $77.88 billion, a PE ratio of 36.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.34. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $522.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $480.30. 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 quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 5.61% and a return on equity of 25.44%. The business had revenue of $10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.18 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $6.18 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.16 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were given a dividend of $2.06 per share. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is presently 57.62%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on NOC. StockNews.com raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Northrop Grumman from $521.00 to $587.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Alembic Global Advisors lowered Northrop Grumman from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $560.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $474.00 to $575.00 in a report on Monday, July 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $535.00.

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.