37,557 Shares in Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC Purchased by Associated Banc Corp

Key Points

• Associated Banc Corp bought 37,557 Northrop Grumman shares in the third quarter, valued at approximately $18.2 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.4% of the company’s stock.
• Northrop Grumman reported quarterly earnings of $7.89 per share, beating estimates of $7.18; revenue rose 6.7% year over year to $11.12 billion, slightly below analysts’ forecast.
• Analysts have a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $643.74. The company’s annualized dividend is $9.88 per share, yielding about 1.8%.

Associated Banc Corp purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 37,557 shares of the aerospace company's stock, valued at approximately $18,158,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NOC. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,169,195 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $6,707,203,000 after buying an additional 168,267 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the 2nd quarter valued at about $6,001,616,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,298,141,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Northrop Grumman by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 960,690 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $655,373,000 after buying an additional 5,811 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake in Northrop Grumman by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 747,121 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $380,516,000 after buying an additional 16,195 shares during the period. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of Northrop Grumman stock opened at $550.17 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $78.16 billion, a PE ratio of 19.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of -0.13. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 52 week low of $470.06 and a 52 week high of $774.00. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $520.59 and a 200-day moving average price of $590.91. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 20th. The aerospace company reported $7.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $7.18 by $0.71. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 23.46% and a net margin of 10.37%. The company had revenue of $11.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $7.67 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 29.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 31st were paid a dividend of $2.47 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 31st. This represents a $9.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.17%.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In other news, Director Mark Welsh, III sold 98 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, November 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $555.65, for a total value of $54,453.70. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 4,314 shares in the company, valued at $2,397,074.10. This represents a 2.22% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.21% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on NOC shares. UBS Group raised their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $694.00 to $698.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 21st. Weiss Ratings upgraded Northrop Grumman from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $615.00 target price on Northrop Grumman and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Rothschild & Co Redburn began coverage on Northrop Grumman in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $680.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $550.00 to $675.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 21st. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $643.74.

Northrop Grumman Company Profile

Northrop Grumman Corporation NYSE: NOC is a global aerospace and defense company that develops and produces systems for government and commercial customers, with the U.S. government representing its primary customer base. The company operates across aerospace, defense, space, cybersecurity and advanced technology markets.

Its products and services include military aircraft and autonomous systems, space systems and satellites, missile defense technologies, command-and-control systems, cyber solutions, sensors, communications networks and other mission-critical systems.

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