Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Purchases 31,665 Shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 53.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 91,041 shares of the aerospace company's stock after acquiring an additional 31,665 shares during the quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC owned about 0.06% of Northrop Grumman worth $46,614,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of NOC. Brookstone Capital Management boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 121.0% in the 1st quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 6,640 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $3,400,000 after acquiring an additional 3,635 shares during the period. GAM Holding AG boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 51.9% during the 1st quarter. GAM Holding AG now owns 2,338 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,197,000 after buying an additional 799 shares during the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 12.8% during the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 8,857 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $4,132,000 after buying an additional 1,008 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,025,263 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,417,850,000 after buying an additional 21,903 shares during the last quarter. Finally, RFG Bristol Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $284,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Susquehanna lowered their price target on Northrop Grumman from $557.00 to $540.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Northrop Grumman from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price target for the company from $424.00 to $521.00 in a report on Friday, April 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "hold" rating and set a $542.00 price target (down from $580.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $525.00 price target on Northrop Grumman and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $550.00.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

NOC traded down $5.00 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $518.83. The company's stock had a trading volume of 873,903 shares, compared to its average volume of 876,914. The stock has a market cap of $74.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.47, a PEG ratio of 6.17 and a beta of 0.15. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $492.64 and a 200 day simple moving average of $487.41. 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 Corporation has a twelve month low of $426.24 and a twelve month high of $555.57.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The aerospace company reported $6.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $6.33 by ($0.27). Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 9.19% and a return on equity of 25.46%. The firm had revenue of $9.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.07 billion. Research analysts expect 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd were given a $2.31 dividend. This represents a $9.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.78%. This is a boost from Northrop Grumman's previous quarterly dividend of $2.06. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 2nd. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio is 36.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Northrop Grumman 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 201,602 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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 can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Roshan S. Roeder sold 991 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $490.00, for a total value of $485,590.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 319 shares in the company, valued at approximately $156,310. This represents a 75.65% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 16,569 shares of company stock valued at $8,323,150. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.