FSA Wealth Management LLC Buys Shares of 68 Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 68 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $36,000.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of NOC. Optimum Investment Advisors raised its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 241.2% during the second quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 58 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the second quarter valued at $28,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 245.5% in the 2nd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 76 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter worth about $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

NOC opened at $489.65 on Monday. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1 year low of $418.60 and a 1 year high of $555.57. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $517.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $487.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $71.34 billion, a PE ratio of 30.34, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.09.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.07 by $0.93. The company had revenue of $10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.18 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.79% and a return on equity of 26.57%. Northrop Grumman’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $6.18 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.93 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a dividend of $2.06 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.68%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.05%.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In related news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total transaction of $616,067.08. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $286,183.41. This represents a 68.28 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 1,255 shares of company stock worth $667,727 in the last three months. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on NOC. StockNews.com cut shares of Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Alembic Global Advisors downgraded Northrop Grumman from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $560.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Susquehanna raised their price target on Northrop Grumman from $560.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded Northrop Grumman to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $550.56.

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.