Jennison Associates LLC Purchases Shares of 53,784 Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC)

Jennison Associates LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 53,784 shares of the aerospace company's stock, valued at approximately $27,538,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of NOC. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 176.3% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 2,970 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,394,000 after acquiring an additional 1,895 shares during the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 1,006 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $472,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter worth approximately $201,000. Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new position in Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter worth approximately $297,000. Finally, Summit Global Investments grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 972.6% during the 4th quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 18,224 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $8,552,000 after acquiring an additional 16,525 shares during the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NOC has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Tuesday. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $600.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday. UBS Group cut their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $583.00 to $571.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Susquehanna lifted their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $557.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $576.67.

Northrop Grumman Stock Down 0.7%

NYSE:NOC traded down $4.15 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $559.64. 364,761 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 881,304. The business's 50-day moving average price is $492.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $487.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $80.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.04, a P/E/G ratio of 6.12 and a beta of 0.15. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 1 year low of $426.24 and a 1 year high of $569.40. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 22nd. The aerospace company reported $7.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $6.84 by $0.27. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 25.46% and a net margin of 9.19%. The business had revenue of $10.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.15 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $6.36 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd were paid a $2.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $9.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.65%. This is a boost from Northrop Grumman's previous quarterly dividend of $2.06. Northrop Grumman's payout ratio is currently 36.46%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 7,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $505.77, for a total value of $3,793,275.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 201,602 shares in the company, valued at $101,964,243.54. The trade was a 3.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 729 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $505.77, for a total value of $368,706.33. Following the sale, the vice president owned 7,552 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,819,575.04. This trade represents a 8.80% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 16,569 shares of company stock worth $8,323,150 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company's stock.

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.