Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Shares Purchased by Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC

Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 9.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,358 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 116 shares during the quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $636,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 960.0% during the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 53 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC increased its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 247.6% in the 4th quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 73 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Providence Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings 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 worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the period. 83.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NOC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Susquehanna upped their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $475.00 to $505.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. StockNews.com raised Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Northrop Grumman from $483.00 to $518.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $509.38.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Shares of NOC opened at $471.37 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. Northrop Grumman Co. has a fifty-two week low of $414.56 and a fifty-two week high of $496.89. The company has a market cap of $69.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.96, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.34. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $465.45 and its 200 day moving average price is $465.24.

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

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 26th were paid a dividend of $1.87 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 23rd. This represents a $7.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.59%. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is 52.31%.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In related 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 transaction of $573,321.01. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,735 shares in the company, valued at $1,231,761.95. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 955 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.37, for a total transaction of $430,103.35. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,137 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,863,180.69. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 1,273 shares of the company’s 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 $573,321.01. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 have sold a total of 3,149 shares of company stock valued at $1,421,147 over the last 90 days. 0.22% of the stock is 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.