Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Shares Purchased by Meeder Advisory Services Inc.

Meeder Advisory Services Inc. increased its stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 4.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,705 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the period. Meeder Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $798,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. State of Wyoming increased its position in Northrop Grumman by 76.5% in the 4th quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 60 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares during the period. IMA Wealth Inc. increased its position in Northrop Grumman by 196.3% in the 2nd quarter. IMA Wealth Inc. now owns 80 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the period. Providence Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 400.0% during the 3rd quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. Finally, Toth Financial Advisory Corp increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 19.1% during the 3rd quarter. Toth Financial Advisory Corp now owns 131 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In related news, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 1,273 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The stock was 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 owns 2,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,231,761.95. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Northrop Grumman news, 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 value of $95,482.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,127 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,421,784.36. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 1,273 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.37, for a total value of $573,321.01. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,231,761.95. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 3,149 shares of company stock valued at $1,421,147. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NOC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $450.00 price target (down from $515.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Wolfe Research cut Northrop Grumman from a “peer perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $450.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, December 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $541.00 to $473.00 in a research report on Friday, December 15th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target 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. Finally, StockNews.com cut Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $494.33.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of Northrop Grumman stock opened at $456.57 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $67.66 billion, a PE ratio of 33.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.35. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $458.50 and a 200-day simple moving average of $463.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12 month low of $414.56 and a 12 month high of $496.89.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.27 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.80 by $0.47. The business had revenue of $10.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.43 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 23.07% and a net margin of 5.23%. Northrop Grumman’s revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $7.50 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 24.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 26th were given a dividend of $1.87 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 23rd. This represents a $7.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.64%. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is 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.