Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Shares Acquired by Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc.

Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 7.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,852 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the period. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $978,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Ascent Group LLC lifted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 0.5% in the second quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 4,337 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,891,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 2,141 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,131,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. Asset Dedication LLC raised its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 1.0% during the third quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 2,025 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,069,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.4% in the third quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,478 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $780,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PBMares Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. PBMares Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,421 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,335,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on NOC. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $614.00 to $643.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $592.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Susquehanna increased their target price on Northrop Grumman from $560.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $550.56.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Shares of NOC stock opened at $533.70 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $77.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.35. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1-year low of $418.60 and a 1-year high of $555.57. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $523.76 and a two-hundred day moving average of $485.11. 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 quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.07 by $0.93. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.57% and a net margin of 5.79%. The business had revenue of $10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.18 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $6.18 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were paid a dividend of $2.06 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.54%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.05%.

Northrop Grumman 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.