Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) Price Target Raised to $500.00

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) had its price target increased by Royal Bank of Canada from $475.00 to $500.00 in a report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a sector perform rating on the aerospace company’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also commented on NOC. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $475.00 to $505.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered shares of Northrop Grumman from an outperform rating to a market perform rating and set a $477.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Friday, June 21st. BTIG Research began coverage on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. They issued a buy rating and a $565.00 target price on the stock. Alembic Global Advisors upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a neutral rating to an overweight rating and set a $532.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Susquehanna raised their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a positive rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $517.54.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of NOC opened at $477.57 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $441.64 and its 200-day moving average is $455.30. Northrop Grumman has a 12 month low of $414.56 and a 12 month high of $496.89. The firm has a market cap of $69.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.36 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.93 by $0.43. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.61% and a return on equity of 25.44%. The company had revenue of $10.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.02 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $5.34 EPS. Northrop Grumman’s quarterly revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Northrop Grumman will post 25.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 28th were issued a dividend of $2.06 per share. This is an increase from Northrop Grumman’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.87. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.73%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 24th. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 57.62%.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In related news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,389 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $477.56, for a total transaction of $663,330.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 6,755 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,225,917.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Northrop Grumman

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital International Investors increased its position in Northrop Grumman by 5.6% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 11,747,646 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $5,623,128,000 after acquiring an additional 621,636 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter valued at about $283,114,000. Cerity Partners LLC increased its position in Northrop Grumman by 2,801.7% in the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 330,499 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $154,720,000 after acquiring an additional 319,109 shares in the last quarter. Focused Investors Fund L P acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the 1st quarter valued at about $108,369,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in Northrop Grumman by 4.8% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,634,043 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,218,132,000 after acquiring an additional 211,459 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.