Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Buys 125,262 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 22.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 683,427 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 125,262 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned approximately 0.46% of Northrop Grumman worth $297,937,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of NOC. Capital International Investors lifted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 5.6% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 11,747,646 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $5,623,128,000 after purchasing an additional 621,636 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1,915.9% during the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 438,521 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $191,173,000 after acquiring an additional 416,768 shares during the last quarter. Focused Investors Fund L P bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 1st quarter worth approximately $108,369,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 4.8% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,634,043 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,218,132,000 after acquiring an additional 211,459 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eagle Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter worth approximately $97,866,000. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Northrop Grumman Trading Down 0.0 %

NOC opened at $521.07 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $77.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.44, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.34. 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 Co. has a 12 month low of $414.56 and a 12 month high of $528.76. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $490.48 and a 200-day moving average price of $468.51.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.36 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.02 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $5.34 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 3rd will be paid a dividend of $2.06 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.58%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 57.62%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NOC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered Northrop Grumman from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $477.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Friday, June 21st. StockNews.com raised Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $592.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on Northrop Grumman from $530.00 to $500.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on Northrop Grumman from $593.00 to $605.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $523.20.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,389 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $477.56, for a total transaction of $663,330.84. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 6,755 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,225,917.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,389 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $477.56, for a total transaction of $663,330.84. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 6,755 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,225,917.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $695,000.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 4,634 shares in the company, valued at $2,317,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 2,846 shares of company stock worth $1,393,028 in the last ninety days. 0.22% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.