Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Shares Bought by Summit Financial LLC

Summit Financial LLC raised its position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 102.3% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,495 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 756 shares during the period. Summit Financial LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $700,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of NOC. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter valued at about $283,114,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 74.7% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,174,556 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $517,028,000 after purchasing an additional 502,060 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 10.1% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,488,412 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,975,754,000 after purchasing an additional 410,736 shares during the last quarter. London Co. of Virginia purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $165,786,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 29.2% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,605,679 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $706,804,000 after acquiring an additional 362,515 shares during the period. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other 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 value of $573,321.01. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,735 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,231,761.95. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 711 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $453.22, for a total value of $322,239.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $917,317.28. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 1,273 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,735 shares in the company, valued at $1,231,761.95. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 3,149 shares of company stock worth $1,421,147. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 1.1 %

NYSE NOC opened at $480.00 on Friday. 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 52 week low of $414.56 and a 52 week high of $496.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $71.04 billion, a PE ratio of 33.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.34. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $464.80 and a two-hundred day moving average of $465.95.

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

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 26th were issued a dividend of $1.87 per share. This represents a $7.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 23rd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.31%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on NOC shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Susquehanna boosted their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $475.00 to $505.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Alembic Global Advisors raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $532.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $509.38.

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.