Lmcg Investments LLC Lowers Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Lmcg Investments LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 21,984 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 342 shares during the period. Lmcg Investments LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $11,609,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Optimum Investment Advisors raised its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 241.2% during the second quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 58 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in 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 worth about $47,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC grew its stake in Northrop Grumman by 281.5% during the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 103 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NOC has been the topic of several analyst reports. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $521.00 to $587.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. TD Cowen raised shares of Northrop Grumman to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Barclays upped their price target 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $592.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $550.56.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NOC traded down $2.07 during trading on Friday, reaching $506.95. The company had a trading volume of 497,886 shares, compared to its average volume of 869,368. The stock has a market capitalization of $73.86 billion, a PE ratio of 31.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.34. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $523.52 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $482.84. Northrop Grumman Co. has a twelve month low of $418.60 and a twelve 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.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.07 by $0.93. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.57% and a net margin of 5.79%. The firm 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 posted $6.18 earnings per share. Northrop Grumman’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were issued a $2.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.63%. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio 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.