Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Has $8.97 Million Holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 11.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 16,994 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,747 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $8,974,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Caxton Associates LP acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the first quarter worth $864,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman during the 1st quarter worth $1,340,000. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 0.4% during the first quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 233,602 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $111,816,000 after acquiring an additional 979 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 10.2% during the first quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 4,081 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,952,000 after acquiring an additional 377 shares during the period. Finally, Beacon Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 33.8% in the first quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 313 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $150,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Shares of NOC stock opened at $485.27 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $519.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $487.03. Northrop Grumman Co. has a one year low of $418.60 and a one year high of $555.57. The firm has a market cap of $70.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.97.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 EPS for the quarter, beating 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $6.18 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a dividend of $2.06 per share. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is 51.05%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. TD Cowen upgraded Northrop Grumman to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $521.00 to $587.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Alembic Global Advisors lowered shares of Northrop Grumman from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $560.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $550.56.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total transaction of $616,067.08. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $286,183.41. This trade represents a 68.28 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,289 shares of company stock worth $685,273. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

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.