West Family Investments Inc. Buys Shares of 552 Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

West Family Investments Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 552 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $258,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 247.6% during the fourth quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 73 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 400.0% in the third quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the period. Finally, Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 3rd quarter valued at $70,000. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 210 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,127 shares in the company, valued at $1,421,784.36. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 1,273 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.37, for a total value of $573,321.01. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,735 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,231,761.95. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 210 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $454.68, for a total transaction of $95,482.80. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,127 shares in the company, 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

A number of research analysts have weighed in on NOC shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Northrop Grumman from $483.00 to $518.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday. TheStreet cut shares of Northrop Grumman from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $475.00 to $505.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. StockNews.com raised Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $509.38.

Northrop Grumman Trading Down 1.2 %

Northrop Grumman stock traded down $5.91 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $469.09. The company had a trading volume of 1,432,693 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,013,910. The firm has a market cap of $69.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.34. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12-month low of $414.56 and a 12-month high of $496.89. 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 50-day moving average price of $464.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $465.95.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.83 by $0.49. The business had revenue of $10.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.77 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.38% and a return on equity of 24.09%. The company’s revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $5.50 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 24.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

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 1.59%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.31%.

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.