Jennison Associates LLC Acquires New Position in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC)

Jennison Associates LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 53,784 shares of the aerospace company's stock, valued at approximately $27,538,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Bellwether Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the first quarter worth approximately $46,000. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Finally, Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the first quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In related news, VP Roshan S. Roeder sold 991 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $490.00, for a total transaction of $485,590.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 319 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $156,310. This trade represents a 75.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 7,500 shares of the firm'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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 16,569 shares of company stock valued at $8,323,150 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company's stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Northrop Grumman stock traded up $48.19 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $563.48. 1,603,602 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 879,834. The stock has a market capitalization of $81.10 billion, a PE ratio of 22.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.17 and a beta of 0.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.84. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 12-month low of $426.24 and a 12-month high of $567.23. The business's 50-day moving average is $492.64 and its 200-day moving average is $487.55.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The aerospace company reported $6.06 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $6.33 by ($0.27). Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 25.46% and a net margin of 9.19%. The company had revenue of $9.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.07 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd were paid a dividend of $2.31 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 2nd. This is a positive change from Northrop Grumman's previous quarterly dividend of $2.06. This represents a $9.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.64%. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio is presently 36.46%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $580.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen cut Northrop Grumman from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised Northrop Grumman from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $424.00 to $521.00 in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $550.00.

Northrop Grumman Company 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.