Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC Shares Purchased by Mediolanum International Funds Ltd

Mediolanum International Funds Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) by 29.5% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 8,235 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,878 shares during the period. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $5,531,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Spartan Wealth Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the 1st quarter valued at $244,000. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.7% in the first quarter. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,874 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $3,325,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the period. German American Bancorp Inc. boosted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 89.7% in the first quarter. German American Bancorp Inc. now owns 10,688 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $7,292,000 after buying an additional 5,054 shares during the period. Quadrant Private Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 5.4% in the first quarter. Quadrant Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 392 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $268,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atlas Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 653.6% in the first quarter. Atlas Wealth LLC now owns 4,009 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,735,000 after buying an additional 3,477 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on NOC. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and set a $815.00 price target on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 25th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Northrop Grumman from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $620.00 to $580.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $603.00 to $533.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $676.29.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

NOC opened at $524.95 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $74.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.43, a PEG ratio of 3.53 and a beta of -0.10. The company has a 50-day moving average of $537.61 and a 200-day moving average of $623.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.15. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 1-year low of $493.84 and a 1-year high of $774.00.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The aerospace company reported $6.14 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.06 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $9.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.75 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 10.80% and a return on equity of 24.72%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $6.06 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 27.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st were paid a dividend of $2.47 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 1st. This is an increase from Northrop Grumman’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.31. This represents a $9.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is currently 30.92%.

Northrop Grumman Profile

Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) is a leading U.S.-based aerospace and defense company that designs, builds and sustains advanced systems, products and technologies for government and commercial customers. Formed through the combination of Northrop and Grumman businesses in the 1990s, the company’s portfolio spans manned and unmanned aircraft, space systems, missile defense, radar and sensor systems, and integrated command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (C4ISR) solutions.

The company’s work includes airframe and platform manufacturing, space hardware and satellite systems, advanced mission systems and cybersecurity services, as well as logistics, sustainment and modernization programs.