Czech National Bank Has $11.56 Million Stock Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Czech National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 6.8% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 26,509 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 1,694 shares during the period. Czech National Bank’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $11,557,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bogart Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 14.1% during the 1st quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 170 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $81,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Northrop Grumman by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 965 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $462,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the period. Capital Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Northrop Grumman by 1.1% in the second quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,068 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $902,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Renasant Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. Renasant Bank now owns 743 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $356,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the period. Finally, Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. now owns 2,961 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,386,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

NYSE:NOC traded up $4.05 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $498.39. The stock had a trading volume of 196,154 shares, compared to its average volume of 962,846. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12-month low of $414.56 and a 12-month high of $506.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.11. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $446.99 and a 200 day simple moving average of $456.40. The stock has a market cap of $73.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.32.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.93 by $0.43. The business had revenue of $10.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.02 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 25.44% and a net margin of 5.61%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $5.34 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 28th were paid a dividend of $2.06 per share. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.65%. This is a positive change from Northrop Grumman’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.87. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 24th. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is presently 57.62%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on NOC. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Northrop Grumman from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $592.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $474.00 to $575.00 in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Alembic Global Advisors upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $532.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, April 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $521.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,389 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 6,755 shares in the company, valued at $3,225,917.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,389 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $477.56, for a total transaction of $663,330.84. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 6,755 shares in the company, valued at $3,225,917.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at $2,317,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.