Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS Raises Stock Holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS lifted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 29.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,959 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 440 shares during the quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $854,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $605,000. Accretive Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in Northrop Grumman by 10.5% in the fourth quarter. Accretive Wealth Partners LLC now owns 528 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $247,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC lifted its position in Northrop Grumman by 21.9% in the fourth quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 557 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $241,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $640,000. Finally, Calton & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $293,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on NOC. StockNews.com raised Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 12th. BTIG Research began coverage on Northrop Grumman in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. They set a “buy” rating and a $565.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Northrop Grumman from $467.00 to $509.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Northrop Grumman from $440.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on Northrop Grumman from $530.00 to $500.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $523.20.

Northrop Grumman Trading Down 0.8 %

NYSE NOC opened at $515.43 on Friday. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12 month low of $414.56 and a 12 month high of $528.76. The stock has a market cap of $76.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.32. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $478.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $465.36. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.36 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.93 by $0.43. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 25.44% and a net margin of 5.61%. The firm had revenue of $10.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.02 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $5.34 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd will be paid a $2.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.60%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is currently 57.62%.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In other news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $695,000.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 4,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,317,000. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $695,000.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 4,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,317,000. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,389 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $477.56, for a total value of $663,330.84. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 6,755 shares in the company, valued at $3,225,917.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 2,846 shares of company stock valued at $1,393,028. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

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.