Benjamin Edwards Inc. Grows Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 4.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 778 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 33 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $364,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of NOC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 10.1% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,488,412 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,975,754,000 after acquiring an additional 410,736 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 3.5% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,194,298 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,846,289,000 after purchasing an additional 142,036 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 6.8% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,244,324 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $547,739,000 after buying an additional 79,263 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake 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 valued at $517,028,000 after buying an additional 502,060 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 867,137 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $381,705,000 after buying an additional 21,501 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE NOC traded down $5.91 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $469.09. 1,443,462 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,144,324. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $464.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $465.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The company has a market cap of $69.42 billion, a PE ratio of 32.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.34. Northrop Grumman Co. has a twelve month low of $414.56 and a twelve month high of $496.89.

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 the consensus estimate of $5.83 by $0.49. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.38% and a return on equity of 24.09%. The business had revenue of $10.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.77 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $5.50 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 24.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 26th were issued a dividend of $1.87 per share. This represents a $7.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 23rd. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is 52.31%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on NOC. Susquehanna boosted their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $475.00 to $505.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Alembic Global Advisors upgraded Northrop Grumman from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $532.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, April 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $509.38.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 955 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.37, for a total value of $430,103.35. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,137 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,863,180.69. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 711 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $453.22, for a total transaction of $322,239.42. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $917,317.28. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 955 shares of the business’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 $430,103.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,137 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,863,180.69. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 3,149 shares of company stock valued at $1,421,147. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.