Heirloom Wealth Management Takes $5.01 Million Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Heirloom Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 10,695 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,007,000. Northrop Grumman comprises 1.9% of Heirloom Wealth Management’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 10.1% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,488,412 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,975,754,000 after purchasing an additional 410,736 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 3.5% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,194,298 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,846,289,000 after purchasing an additional 142,036 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 29.2% in the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,605,679 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $706,804,000 after purchasing an additional 362,515 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 30.1% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,567,612 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $723,799,000 after purchasing an additional 362,449 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 6.8% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,244,324 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $547,739,000 after purchasing an additional 79,263 shares during the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $450.00 target price (down from $515.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Friday, January 26th. StockNews.com downgraded Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Northrop Grumman from $505.00 to $475.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 26th. TheStreet downgraded Northrop Grumman from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, Susquehanna decreased their target price on Northrop Grumman from $560.00 to $540.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $494.33.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 2.2 %

NOC traded up $10.08 during trading on Friday, reaching $462.58. 903,960 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 989,637. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $459.71 and its 200-day moving average price is $464.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.15. Northrop Grumman Co. has a fifty-two week low of $414.56 and a fifty-two week high of $496.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $68.55 billion, a PE ratio of 34.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 0.35.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.80 by $0.47. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.23% and a return on equity of 23.07%. The company had revenue of $10.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.43 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $7.50 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 24.67 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 26th were issued a $1.87 dividend. This represents a $7.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 23rd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 55.49%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 1,273 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,231,761.95. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 711 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $453.22, for a total value of $322,239.42. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $917,317.28. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 1,273 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.37, for a total transaction of $573,321.01. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,735 shares in the company, valued at $1,231,761.95. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 3,149 shares of company stock valued at $1,421,147 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

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.