Lincoln National Corp Acquires 166 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Lincoln National Corp raised its holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 1.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 11,067 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the quarter. Lincoln National Corp’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $5,181,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in NOC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 10.1% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,488,412 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,975,754,000 after acquiring an additional 410,736 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,194,298 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,846,289,000 after acquiring an additional 142,036 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 6.8% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,244,324 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $547,739,000 after acquiring an additional 79,263 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 74.7% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,174,556 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $517,028,000 after acquiring an additional 502,060 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its stake in Northrop Grumman by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 867,137 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $381,705,000 after purchasing an additional 21,501 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Down 0.0 %

Shares of NOC stock traded down $0.23 on Monday, hitting $468.86. The stock had a trading volume of 856,805 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,012,167. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $465.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $465.32. The company has a market cap of $69.39 billion, a PE ratio of 32.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.34. Northrop Grumman Co. has a one year low of $414.56 and a one year high of $496.89.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.32 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $10.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.77 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $5.50 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 24.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 26th were given a dividend of $1.87 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 23rd. This represents a $7.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.60%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.31%.

Insider Activity

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 1,273 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.37, for a total value of $573,321.01. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,231,761.95. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Northrop Grumman news, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 955 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.37, for a total transaction of $430,103.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,137 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,863,180.69. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 1,273 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.37, for a total transaction of $573,321.01. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,231,761.95. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 3,149 shares of company stock worth $1,421,147 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on NOC. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $475.00 to $505.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. TheStreet lowered Northrop Grumman from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $509.38.

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.