Cross Staff Investments Inc Buys 39 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Cross Staff Investments Inc grew its stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 1.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,245 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the quarter. Northrop Grumman makes up about 0.9% of Cross Staff Investments Inc’s holdings, making the stock its 27th largest position. Cross Staff Investments Inc’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $1,051,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of NOC. London Co. of Virginia purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the third quarter valued at approximately $165,786,000. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 74.7% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,174,556 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $517,028,000 after buying an additional 502,060 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. boosted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 19.7% in the fourth quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 16,515 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $7,731,000 after acquiring an additional 2,723 shares during the period. Phraction Management LLC bought a new position in Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter valued at $677,000. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 2,801.7% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 330,499 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $154,720,000 after purchasing an additional 319,109 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:NOC traded down $5.15 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $482.91. 728,025 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 998,180. Northrop Grumman Co. has a one year low of $414.56 and a one year high of $496.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $71.57 billion, a PE ratio of 35.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The business’s 50 day moving average is $462.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $465.71.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.83 by $0.49. The firm had revenue of $10.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.77 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 23.07% and a net margin of 5.23%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $5.50 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 24.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 26th were issued a $1.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 23rd. This represents a $7.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.55%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.49%.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In related news, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 210 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $454.68, for a total value of $95,482.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,127 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,421,784.36. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 1,273 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.37, for a total value of $573,321.01. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 2,735 shares in the company, valued at $1,231,761.95. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 210 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $454.68, for a total transaction of $95,482.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,127 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,421,784.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 3,149 shares of company stock valued at $1,421,147. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on NOC shares. TheStreet lowered Northrop Grumman from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $475.00 to $505.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. Susquehanna upped their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $503.00.

About Northrop Grumman

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.