Fayez Sarofim & Co Has $1.16 Million Position in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC)

Key Points

• Fayez Sarofim & Co increased its stake in Northrop Grumman Corporation by 44.2% during the first quarter, bringing its total shares to 2,272 with a value of approximately $1,163,000.
• Several hedge funds significantly increased their holdings in Northrop Grumman, with notable increases of 121.0% by Brookstone Capital Management and 206.2% by Golden State Wealth Management.
• Northrop Grumman reported earnings of $7.11 per share for the last quarter, exceeding expectations and indicating a 1.3% revenue increase year-over-year.

Fayez Sarofim & Co raised its position in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 44.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,272 shares of the aerospace company's stock after acquiring an additional 696 shares during the quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co's holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $1,163,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in NOC. IMA Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in Northrop Grumman during the first quarter worth $27,000. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise bought a new position in Northrop Grumman during the first quarter worth $30,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Bellwether Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Hollencrest Capital Management lifted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 790.0% in the first quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 89 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on NOC shares. UBS Group cut their target price on Northrop Grumman from $583.00 to $571.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "hold" rating and issued a $542.00 target price (down from $580.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Northrop Grumman from $580.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Northrop Grumman from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $580.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $586.79.

Northrop Grumman Trading Down 0.3%

NOC traded down $1.49 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $578.75. The company had a trading volume of 185,540 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,003,220. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $524.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $498.42. The company has a market cap of $82.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.34, a PEG ratio of 5.51 and a beta of 0.15. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 12-month low of $426.24 and a 12-month high of $594.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 1.04.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The aerospace company reported $7.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $6.84 by $0.27. The firm had revenue of $10.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.15 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 25.52% and a net margin of 9.74%. Northrop Grumman's revenue was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $6.36 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd were given a dividend of $2.31 per share. This represents a $9.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 2nd. This is a boost from Northrop Grumman's previous quarterly dividend of $2.06. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio is 34.06%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Roshan S. Roeder sold 991 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $156,310. The trade was a 75.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 729 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $505.77, for a total value of $368,706.33. Following the sale, the vice president owned 7,552 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,819,575.04. This represents a 8.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 16,536 shares of company stock valued at $8,306,857. 0.23% of the stock is 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.