587 Shares in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Purchased by Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC

Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 587 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $275,000.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. London Co. of Virginia purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $165,786,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Northrop Grumman by 74.7% during the third 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. Raymond James Trust N.A. grew its stake in Northrop Grumman by 19.7% in the fourth quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 16,515 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $7,731,000 after purchasing an additional 2,723 shares in the last quarter. Phraction Management LLC acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter worth about $677,000. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 2,801.7% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 330,499 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $154,720,000 after purchasing an additional 319,109 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NOC has been the subject of several recent research reports. Susquehanna boosted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. TheStreet cut Northrop Grumman from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $483.00 to $518.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Northrop Grumman from $475.00 to $505.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $509.38.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

NOC stock traded up $1.07 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $472.68. The stock had a trading volume of 532,919 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,001,942. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52 week low of $414.56 and a 52 week high of $496.89. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $465.45 and a 200 day simple moving average of $465.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $69.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.34.

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

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 26th were given a dividend of $1.87 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 23rd. This represents a $7.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.58%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In other news, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 711 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $453.22, for a total value of $322,239.42. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 2,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $917,317.28. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 711 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $453.22, for a total value of $322,239.42. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $917,317.28. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 1,273 shares of the firm’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 sale, the vice president now 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 3,149 shares of company stock worth $1,421,147 over the last three months. 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.