D.B. Root & Company LLC Has $428,000 Holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

D.B. Root & Company LLC decreased its position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 7.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 894 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 76 shares during the quarter. D.B. Root & Company LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $428,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NOC. Wesbanco Bank Inc. boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 1.2% in the third quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 1,782 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $784,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. raised its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. now owns 524 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $245,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Northrop Grumman by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC now owns 844 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $395,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the period. Tilia Fiduciary Partners Inc. raised its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Tilia Fiduciary Partners Inc. now owns 727 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $340,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the period. Finally, Gradient Investments LLC raised its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 493 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $231,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Shares of NOC stock opened at $435.95 on Monday. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1 year low of $414.56 and a 1 year 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 firm’s 50 day moving average is $456.07 and its 200-day moving average is $459.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $64.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.49, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.33.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.32 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.83 by $0.49. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 24.09% and a net margin of 5.38%. The firm had revenue of $10.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.77 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $5.50 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 24.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 28th were paid a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.89%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 24th. This is a positive change from Northrop Grumman’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.87. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 57.62%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NOC has been the topic of several research reports. StockNews.com lowered Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Northrop Grumman from $530.00 to $500.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $483.00 to $518.00 in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. BTIG Research assumed coverage on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $565.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein cut shares of Northrop Grumman from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $477.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Friday, June 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $510.36.

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.