Gradient Investments LLC Has $340,000 Stock Holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Gradient Investments LLC boosted its position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC – Get Rating) by 25.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 623 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 128 shares during the quarter. Gradient Investments LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $340,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Grayhawk Investment Strategies Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 406.7% during the 3rd quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 76 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. EdgeRock Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $38,000. TD Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, First Personal Financial Services acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $51,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.32% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

NOC opened at $443.60 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $460.85 and a 200 day simple moving average of $494.53. The company has a market capitalization of $67.48 billion, a PE ratio of 14.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.92 and a beta of 0.51. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1 year low of $424.35 and a 1 year high of $556.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.99.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC – Get Rating) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 26th. The aerospace company reported $7.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.57 by $0.93. The firm had revenue of $10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.64 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 28.29% and a net margin of 13.38%. The company’s revenue was up 16.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $6.00 EPS. Research analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 22.04 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 27th were given a dividend of $1.73 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 24th. This represents a $6.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.56%. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is 21.96%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP David T. Perry sold 3,999 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $469.65, for a total transaction of $1,878,130.35. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 8,717 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,093,939.05. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, VP David T. Perry sold 3,999 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $469.65, for a total transaction of $1,878,130.35. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 8,717 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,093,939.05. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Mark A. Caylor sold 2,810 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $467.58, for a total value of $1,313,899.80. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 16,240 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,593,499.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 10,534 shares of company stock worth $4,934,622. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on NOC. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Northrop Grumman from $626.00 to $601.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 27th. Susquehanna decreased their target price on Northrop Grumman from $615.00 to $535.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 27th. Cowen lowered Northrop Grumman from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $500.00 to $478.00 in a report on Friday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Northrop Grumman from $465.00 to $400.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 27th. Finally, StockNews.com began coverage on Northrop Grumman in a report on Thursday. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $508.13.

About Northrop Grumman

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Northrop Grumman Corp. engages in the provision of advanced aircraft systems. It operates through the following segments: Aeronautics Systems, Defense Systems, Mission Systems, and Space Systems. The Aeronautics Systems segment is involved in the design, development, production, integration, sustainment, and modernization of advanced aircraft systems for the U.S.