Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC Stock: Vise Technologies Inc. Increases Stake

Key Points

• Vise Technologies increased its Northrop Grumman stake by 24.6% in the third quarter, bringing its holdings to 13,596 shares valued at approximately $6.6 million. Institutional investors collectively own 83.4% of NOC.
• Analysts maintain a generally favorable outlook, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $643.74; individual targets range from $590 to $765.
• Northrop Grumman reported quarterly EPS of $7.89, beating estimates of $7.18, while revenue rose 6.7% year over year to $11.12 billion. The company also pays a quarterly dividend of $2.47, equivalent to a 1.8% annual yield.

Vise Technologies Inc. increased its position in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 24.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,596 shares of the aerospace company's stock after acquiring an additional 2,681 shares during the quarter. Vise Technologies Inc.'s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $6,573,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NOC. State Street Corp boosted its position 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 period. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the second quarter worth $6,001,616,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,298,141,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 960,690 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $655,373,000 after purchasing an additional 5,811 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc lifted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 747,121 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $380,516,000 after buying an additional 16,195 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $615.00 price target on Northrop Grumman and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. BNP Paribas Exane upped their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $540.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 21st. Susquehanna cut their target price on Northrop Grumman from $785.00 to $655.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Northrop Grumman from $745.00 to $765.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 21st. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $643.74.

Northrop Grumman Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of NOC stock opened at $555.58 on Tuesday. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 12-month low of $470.06 and a 12-month high of $774.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $520.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $591.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $78.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.02 and a beta of -0.11.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 20th. The aerospace company reported $7.89 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.14 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $7.67 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 29.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 31st were paid a $2.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 31st. This represents a $9.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. Northrop Grumman's payout ratio is presently 31.17%.

Northrop Grumman Company Profile

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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