Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Shares Acquired by Cross Staff Investments Inc

Cross Staff Investments Inc increased its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 1.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,245 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. Northrop Grumman accounts for about 0.9% of Cross Staff Investments Inc’s holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest position. Cross Staff Investments Inc’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $1,051,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 11.8% in the fourth quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 3,370 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,578,000 after buying an additional 356 shares during the last quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. grew its stake in Northrop Grumman by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 20,262 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $9,486,000 after acquiring an additional 519 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter valued at $387,000. Community Bank & Trust Waco Texas lifted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 29.4% during the 4th quarter. Community Bank & Trust Waco Texas now owns 752 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $352,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares during the period. Finally, SlateStone Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC now owns 9,024 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $4,224,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 1,273 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $573,321.01. Following the transaction, the vice president now 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 SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 1,273 shares of the 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,231,761.95. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 955 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.37, for a total value of $430,103.35. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now 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 valued at $1,421,147 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Northrop Grumman from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $475.00 to $505.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. Alembic Global Advisors upgraded Northrop Grumman from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $532.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday. TheStreet downgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $503.00.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of NOC stock traded down $5.15 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $482.91. The stock had a trading volume of 728,025 shares, compared to its average volume of 998,180. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.57 billion, a PE ratio of 35.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.35. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $462.00 and a 200-day simple moving average of $465.71. Northrop Grumman Co. has a twelve month low of $414.56 and a twelve month high of $496.89.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.32 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.83 by $0.49. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.23% and a return on equity of 23.07%. The business had revenue of $10.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.77 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $5.50 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 24.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 26th were issued a dividend of $1.87 per share. This represents a $7.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 23rd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.