Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Stake Lifted by Stolper Co

Stolper Co boosted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC – Get Rating) by 3.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 14,028 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 433 shares during the period. Northrop Grumman comprises about 3.4% of Stolper Co’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Stolper Co’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $7,654,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Grayhawk Investment Strategies Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. EWG Elevate Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. MADDEN SECURITIES Corp purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 406.7% in the 3rd quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 76 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the period. Finally, EdgeRock Capital LLC purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman during the 3rd quarter worth $38,000. 84.32% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 1,178 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $467.81, for a total value of $551,080.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,737 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,280,395.97. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, VP David T. Perry sold 3,999 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $469.65, for a total value of $1,878,130.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 8,717 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,093,939.05. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 1,178 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $467.81, for a total value of $551,080.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,737 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,280,395.97. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 10,534 shares of company stock valued at $4,934,622 in the last quarter. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of NOC stock traded down $6.55 on Friday, hitting $443.60. The company had a trading volume of 1,599,300 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,198,684. The firm has a market cap of $67.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.01 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $460.85 and a 200-day moving average price of $494.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. Northrop Grumman Co. has a twelve month low of $424.35 and a twelve month high of $556.27.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 26th. The aerospace company reported $7.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.57 by $0.93. The business had revenue of $10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.64 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 28.29% and a net margin of 13.38%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $6.00 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 22.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 27th were issued a $1.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 24th. This represents a $6.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.56%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.96%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NOC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Northrop Grumman from $626.00 to $601.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 27th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $520.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 27th. Cowen downgraded Northrop Grumman from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $478.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Friday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Northrop Grumman from $460.00 to $470.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 31st. Finally, Credit Suisse Group dropped their target price on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $490.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $508.13.

Northrop Grumman Profile

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Northrop Grumman Corp. engages in the provision of advanced aircraft systems. It operates through the following segments: Aeronautics Systems, Defense Systems, Mission Systems, and Space Systems. The Aeronautics Systems segment is involved in the design, development, production, integration, sustainment, and modernization of advanced aircraft systems for the U.S.