Meeder Advisory Services Inc. Has $989,000 Stock Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Meeder Advisory Services Inc. boosted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 24.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,268 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 442 shares during the period. Meeder Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $989,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd boosted its position in Northrop Grumman by 1,402.9% during the first quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd now owns 12,925 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $6,186,000 after purchasing an additional 12,065 shares during the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the first quarter valued at $870,000. Norden Group LLC acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the first quarter valued at $778,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Northrop Grumman by 7,574.5% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 123,637 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $57,879,000 after purchasing an additional 122,026 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Red Mountain Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter worth about $264,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In other news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,389 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,225,917.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 4,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,317,000. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,389 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 6,755 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,225,917.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 2,846 shares of company stock valued at $1,393,028. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on NOC shares. UBS Group boosted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $593.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $467.00 to $509.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Alembic Global Advisors cut Northrop Grumman from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $560.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $474.00 to $575.00 in a research report on Monday, July 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $523.20.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NOC opened at $519.78 on Friday. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12-month low of $414.56 and a 12-month high of $528.76. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $76.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.34. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $486.71 and its 200 day moving average price is $467.49.

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

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd will be issued a $2.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.59%. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is presently 57.62%.

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.