Syntax Research Inc. Makes New $589,000 Investment in Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC

Syntax Research Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 1,219 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $589,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,169,195 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $6,707,203,000 after acquiring an additional 168,267 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the second quarter valued at approximately $6,001,616,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,298,141,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.6% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 960,690 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $655,373,000 after acquiring an additional 5,811 shares during the period. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. raised its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 11.1% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 587,121 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $400,557,000 after purchasing an additional 58,690 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of NOC opened at $539.48 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $519.23 and its 200-day moving average is $588.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $76.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of -0.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.14. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 12-month low of $470.06 and a 12-month high of $774.00.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 20th. The aerospace company reported $7.89 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.18 by $0.71. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 10.37% and a return on equity of 23.46%. The business had revenue of $11.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.14 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $7.67 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 29.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 31st were given a $2.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 31st. This represents a $9.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is 31.17%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NOC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. TD Cowen cut their target price on Northrop Grumman from $590.00 to $540.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 9th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $617.00 to $667.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $556.00 to $590.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 27th. BNP Paribas Exane boosted their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $540.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 21st. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $694.00 to $698.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 21st. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $643.74.

Insider Activity

In other Northrop Grumman news, Director Mark Welsh, III sold 98 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $555.65, for a total value of $54,453.70. Following the transaction, the director owned 4,314 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,397,074.10. This represents a 2.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Profile

Northrop Grumman Corporation is a U.S.-based aerospace and defense company that develops and produces systems for government and commercial customers. Its business spans aeronautics, defense, mission technologies and space, including military aircraft, autonomous systems, missile and air-defense capabilities, sensors, communications and satellites.

The company is the prime contractor for the B-21 Raider and is developing the Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile system. It also supplies technologies and components for other defense programs, as well as launch vehicles, propulsion systems and spacecraft.

Northrop Grumman traces its roots to Northrop Aircraft, founded in 1939, and Grumman, founded in 1930; the two companies combined in 1994.