Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) Shares Purchased by JLB & Associates Inc.

JLB & Associates Inc. boosted its position in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 2.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 29,700 shares of the aerospace company's stock after acquiring an additional 600 shares during the period. Northrop Grumman comprises approximately 2.1% of JLB & Associates Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. JLB & Associates Inc.'s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $15,207,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 55,522.3% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,520,158 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $778,336,000 after purchasing an additional 1,517,425 shares during the period. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 8,239,434 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $3,866,133,000 after purchasing an additional 461,307 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 28.5% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,030,644 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $952,962,000 after buying an additional 450,858 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 337.1% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 482,112 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $226,250,000 after buying an additional 371,814 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter worth $171,580,000. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company set a $525.00 price objective on Northrop Grumman and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of 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. Argus raised shares of Northrop Grumman to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $583.00 to $571.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $548.33.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 0.7%

NYSE:NOC traded up $3.27 on Friday, reaching $497.92. The stock had a trading volume of 912,957 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,067,830. The company has a 50-day moving average of $490.07 and a 200 day moving average of $482.87. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The stock has a market cap of $71.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.40 and a beta of 0.14. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 12-month low of $422.69 and a 12-month high of $555.57.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The aerospace company reported $6.06 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $6.33 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 $9.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.07 billion. On average, research analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd were given a dividend of $2.31 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $9.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.86%. This is an increase from Northrop Grumman's previous quarterly dividend of $2.06. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Northrop Grumman news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $495.00, for a total transaction of $1,856,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 209,102 shares of the company's stock, valued at $103,505,490. This trade represents a 1.76% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 729 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $505.77, for a total transaction of $368,706.33. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 7,552 shares in the company, 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. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 16,569 shares of company stock worth $8,322,279. Insiders own 0.23% 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.