Avestar Capital LLC Buys 71 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Avestar Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 13.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 618 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 71 shares during the quarter. Avestar Capital LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $326,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. AIA Group Ltd grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 20.0% during the third quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 7,458 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $3,938,000 after buying an additional 1,242 shares during the last quarter. Aviso Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 110.7% during the second quarter. Aviso Wealth Management now owns 1,896 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $827,000 after buying an additional 996 shares during the last quarter. Susquehanna International Securities Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,133,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 2.6% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 212,514 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $112,222,000 after buying an additional 5,334 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 133.9% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,248 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $980,000 after buying an additional 1,287 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of NOC opened at $489.20 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. The firm has a market cap of $71.28 billion, a PE ratio of 30.31, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.35. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12 month low of $418.60 and a 12 month high of $555.57. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $518.57 and a 200-day moving average price of $487.14.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.07 by $0.93. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.57% and a net margin of 5.79%. The company had revenue of $10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.18 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $6.18 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a dividend of $2.06 per share. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.68%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.05%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $521.00 to $587.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $509.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Alembic Global Advisors lowered Northrop Grumman from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $560.00 price target for the company. in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $592.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $550.56.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In other news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total value of $616,067.08. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $286,183.41. This represents a 68.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,255 shares of company stock worth $667,727. 0.22% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Northrop Grumman Company Profile

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.