Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Acquires New Holdings in Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC

Key Points

• Mirae Asset Global Investments acquired 42,707 Northrop Grumman shares in the third quarter, valued at approximately $20.6 million. Institutional investors collectively own 83.4% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains favorable, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $643.74, despite differing targets ranging from $550 to $765.
• Northrop Grumman exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $7.89 in EPS versus the $7.18 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 6.7% year over year to $11.12 billion. The company also maintains a $2.47 quarterly dividend, equivalent to a 1.8% annual yield.

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 42,707 shares of the aerospace company's stock, valued at approximately $20,648,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.3% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,169,195 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $6,707,203,000 after purchasing an additional 168,267 shares during the last quarter. Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman in the 2nd quarter worth about $3,308,000. Sage Capital Advisors llc acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $5,773,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman during the second quarter valued at $1,298,141,000. Finally, AXQ Capital LP purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,461,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $585.00 target price on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Sunday, October 25th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $556.00 to $590.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 27th. Susquehanna dropped their target price on Northrop Grumman from $785.00 to $655.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on Northrop Grumman from $525.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $745.00 to $765.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 21st. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $643.74.

Northrop Grumman Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of Northrop Grumman stock opened at $555.58 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $78.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.53, a PEG ratio of 3.02 and a beta of -0.11. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $470.06 and a fifty-two week high of $774.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.23. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $520.57 and a 200 day moving average of $591.43.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $7.67 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 29.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 31st were issued a dividend of $2.47 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 31st. This represents a $9.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio is currently 31.17%.

About Northrop Grumman

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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