RWA Wealth Partners LLC Purchases Shares of 2,902 Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

RWA Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 2,902 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,359,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Providence Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 400.0% during the third 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. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the third quarter worth about $70,000. Rational Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the third quarter worth about $72,000. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in 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. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $450.00 target price (down from $515.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Friday, January 26th. TheStreet lowered Northrop Grumman from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. 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 report on Monday. Susquehanna dropped their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $560.00 to $540.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $505.00 to $475.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $497.23.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

NYSE:NOC opened at $474.57 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $70.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $461.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $465.55. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52 week low of $414.56 and a 52 week high of $496.89.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.27 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.80 by $0.47. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 23.07% and a net margin of 5.23%. The firm had revenue of $10.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.43 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $7.50 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 24.67 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 26th were issued a $1.87 dividend. This represents a $7.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.58%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 23rd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is currently 55.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Northrop Grumman news, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 955 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.37, for a total transaction of $430,103.35. Following the transaction, 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 SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 1,273 shares of the company’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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,231,761.95. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 955 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.37, for a total transaction of $430,103.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,137 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 worth $1,421,147 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

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.