Sapient Capital LLC Purchases Shares of 2,460 Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Sapient Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 2,460 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,152,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of NOC. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 10.4% in the fourth quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,830 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,729,000 after buying an additional 548 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp boosted its position in Northrop Grumman by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 21,535 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $10,081,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. grew its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 95.7% in the fourth quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 2,164 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,013,000 after purchasing an additional 1,058 shares during the period. Smart Money Group LLC increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 19.5% in the fourth quarter. Smart Money Group LLC now owns 557 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $261,000 after buying an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Accretive Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 10.5% during the 4th quarter. Accretive Wealth Partners LLC now owns 528 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $247,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Northrop Grumman news, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 210 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $1,421,784.36. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 955 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.37, for a total transaction 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 210 shares of Northrop Grumman 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,127 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on NOC shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $475.00 to $505.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted 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. Wells Fargo & Company increased 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, April 30th. Finally, Alembic Global Advisors upgraded Northrop Grumman from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $532.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. One 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $509.38.

Northrop Grumman Trading Down 1.2 %

Northrop Grumman stock traded down $5.91 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $469.09. 1,443,462 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,144,324. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $69.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.80, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.34. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $464.96 and its 200 day simple moving average is $465.81. Northrop Grumman Co. has a fifty-two week low of $414.56 and a fifty-two week high of $496.89.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.32 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 5.38% and a return on equity of 24.09%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $5.50 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 24.7 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

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