Stephens Inc. AR Has $6.61 Million Stock Holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Stephens Inc. AR boosted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,513 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 583 shares during the period. Stephens Inc. AR’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $6,608,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Optimum Investment Advisors raised its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 241.2% in the second quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 58 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 245.5% in the second quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 76 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the second quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Northrop Grumman by 281.5% during the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 103 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $509.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $614.00 to $643.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $550.56.

Northrop Grumman Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE NOC opened at $506.86 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52 week low of $418.60 and a 52 week high of $555.57. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $523.52 and its 200 day moving average is $482.84. The company has a market cap of $73.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.40, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.34.

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

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were issued a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.63%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 3rd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 51.05%.

About Northrop Grumman

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.