Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Shares Purchased by Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc.

Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 95.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,164 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,058 shares during the quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $1,013,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of NOC. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $283,114,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 74.7% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,174,556 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $517,028,000 after acquiring an additional 502,060 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 10.1% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,488,412 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,975,754,000 after acquiring an additional 410,736 shares in the last quarter. London Co. of Virginia bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter worth about $165,786,000. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 2,801.7% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 330,499 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $154,720,000 after purchasing an additional 319,109 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NOC opened at $468.86 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $465.15 and its 200 day moving average price is $465.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The stock has a market cap of $69.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.79, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.34. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12 month low of $414.56 and a 12 month high of $496.89.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.83 by $0.49. The business had revenue of $10.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.77 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 24.09% and a net margin of 5.38%. The company’s revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $5.50 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 24.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 26th were issued a $1.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 23rd. This represents a $7.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.60%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is currently 52.31%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on NOC shares. StockNews.com raised 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 Northrop Grumman from $475.00 to $505.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. TheStreet downgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Alembic Global Advisors upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $532.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Susquehanna raised their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $509.38.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In other news, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 1,273 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,231,761.95. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 210 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at $1,421,784.36. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 1,273 shares of the 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 $1,231,761.95. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 3,149 shares of company stock valued at $1,421,147 in the last three months. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.