Quarry LP Has $31,000 Stock Holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Quarry LP cut its position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 72.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 59 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 155 shares during the period. Quarry LP’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $31,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake 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 buying an additional 5,334 shares during the period. AIA Group Ltd boosted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 20.0% during the 3rd 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 boosted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 110.7% during the 2nd quarter. Aviso Wealth Management now owns 1,896 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $827,000 after purchasing an additional 996 shares during the last quarter. Susquehanna International Securities Ltd. acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,133,000. Finally, Meridian Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman during the 3rd quarter valued at about $4,089,000. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on NOC shares. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $614.00 to $643.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Susquehanna lifted 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. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $546.81.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $286,183.41. The trade was a 68.28 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders have sold 1,255 shares of company stock valued at $666,461 in the last 90 days. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 1.2 %

NYSE:NOC opened at $481.51 on Friday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $70.15 billion, a PE ratio of 29.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.33. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $509.02 and its 200 day moving average is $487.92. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12 month low of $418.60 and a 12 month high of $555.57.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm posted $6.18 EPS. Northrop Grumman’s revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.93 earnings per share for the current 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 issued a dividend of $2.06 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.71%. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is 51.05%.

Northrop Grumman announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the aerospace company to reacquire up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.