Veracity Capital LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Veracity Capital LLC grew its holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 27.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 990 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 211 shares during the period. Veracity Capital LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $474,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 10.1% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,488,412 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,975,754,000 after buying an additional 410,736 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 3.5% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,194,298 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,846,289,000 after purchasing an additional 142,036 shares in the last quarter. Sanders Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 2,271,466 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,063,364,000 after purchasing an additional 80,887 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,260,599 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $590,137,000 after purchasing an additional 16,275 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Putnam Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 1,156,477 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $541,393,000 after purchasing an additional 28,934 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Shares of NOC opened at $437.09 on Friday. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1-year low of $414.56 and a 1-year high of $496.89. The stock has a market cap of $64.68 billion, a PE ratio of 30.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.33. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $452.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $458.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.32 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.83 by $0.49. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.38% and a return on equity of 24.09%. The business had revenue of $10.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.77 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $5.50 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 24.7 EPS for the current 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 paid a $2.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 24th. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.89%. This is an increase from Northrop Grumman’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.87. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is currently 57.62%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on NOC shares. Alembic Global Advisors raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $532.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $530.00 to $500.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. StockNews.com cut shares of Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. Sanford C. Bernstein cut shares of Northrop Grumman from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $477.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Friday, June 21st. Finally, BTIG Research began coverage on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $565.00 target price for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $510.36.

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.