Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Shares Purchased by Syon Capital LLC

Syon Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 15.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,795 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 240 shares during the quarter. Syon Capital LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $840,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wesbanco Bank Inc. raised its position in Northrop Grumman by 1.2% in the third quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 1,782 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $784,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the period. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. raised its position in Northrop Grumman by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. now owns 524 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $245,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the period. Secure Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC now owns 844 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $395,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the period. Simon Quick Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 4.0% during the third quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 604 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $266,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the period. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 16.2% during the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 165 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $73,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 210 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,127 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,421,784.36. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Northrop Grumman news, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 210 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $454.68, for a total value of $95,482.80. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,127 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,421,784.36. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 955 shares of Northrop Grumman 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 sale, 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. Insiders have sold a total of 3,149 shares of company stock valued at $1,421,147 over the last quarter. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on NOC shares. Alembic Global Advisors raised Northrop Grumman from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $532.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday. TheStreet lowered Northrop Grumman from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $475.00 to $505.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. Susquehanna upped their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $503.00.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of NOC stock traded down $7.61 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $480.45. 1,276,024 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,005,706. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $462.00 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $465.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $71.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.35. 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 0.93, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.15.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.83 by $0.49. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 23.07% and a net margin of 5.23%. The company had revenue of $10.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.77 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $5.50 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 24.67 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Investors 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 1.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 23rd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is currently 55.49%.

Northrop Grumman 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.