Patron Partners LLC Purchases New Stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Patron Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 399 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $211,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 5.6% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 11,747,646 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $5,623,128,000 after purchasing an additional 621,636 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 4.8% in the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,634,043 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,218,132,000 after acquiring an additional 211,459 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.6% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,688,511 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,765,543,000 after acquiring an additional 23,398 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 16.0% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,087,913 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $474,276,000 after acquiring an additional 150,367 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 22.4% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 683,427 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $297,937,000 after acquiring an additional 125,262 shares during the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

NOC stock opened at $533.70 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $523.97 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $485.43. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12-month low of $418.60 and a 12-month high of $555.57. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. The company has a market cap of $77.76 billion, a PE ratio of 33.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.35.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.07 by $0.93. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.57% and a net margin of 5.79%. The company had revenue of $10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.18 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $6.18 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.95 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were given a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is 51.05%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on NOC. Citigroup boosted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $521.00 to $587.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $509.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $474.00 to $575.00 in a report on Monday, July 29th. Barclays boosted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, Susquehanna upped their target price on Northrop Grumman from $560.00 to $625.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $550.56.

Northrop Grumman Company 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.