Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC Has $89.24 Million Stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 168,991 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,122 shares during the quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $89,239,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Optimum Investment Advisors grew its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 241.2% during the second quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 58 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Northrop Grumman by 245.5% during the 2nd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 76 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman during the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter valued at about $40,000. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Northrop Grumman Stock Down 1.4 %

NOC stock opened at $479.57 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $69.87 billion, a PE ratio of 29.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. Northrop Grumman Co. has a twelve month low of $418.60 and a twelve month high of $555.57. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $513.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $487.60.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its quarterly 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. The firm had revenue of $10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.18 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.79% and a return on equity of 26.57%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $6.18 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a dividend of $2.06 per share. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.05%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $592.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. 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 research note on Friday, October 25th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $521.00 to $587.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Northrop Grumman from $509.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $550.56.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In other news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the 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 sale, the vice president now owns 537 shares in the company, valued at approximately $286,183.41. This represents a 68.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders have sold a total of 1,222 shares of company stock worth $650,575 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

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.