Greenleaf Trust Boosts Holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Greenleaf Trust raised its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 1.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,437 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 46 shares during the period. Greenleaf Trust’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $1,815,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its position in Northrop Grumman by 25.9% in the 1st quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 443 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $212,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC lifted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 79.2% in the 1st quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 181 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $87,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 13.4% during the first quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 1,540 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $737,000 after buying an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 15.1% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 39,608 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $18,959,000 after buying an additional 5,184 shares in the last quarter. Finally, 180 Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 5.5% during the first quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,978 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $947,000 after buying an additional 104 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Down 0.7 %

NOC stock opened at $516.40 on Thursday. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12 month low of $418.60 and a 12 month high of $555.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The company has a market cap of $76.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $522.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $480.30.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.93 by $0.43. The business had revenue of $10.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.02 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 25.44% and a net margin of 5.61%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $5.34 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were paid a $2.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.60%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.62%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on NOC. Alembic Global Advisors downgraded shares of 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. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $467.00 to $509.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. StockNews.com raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 12th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $474.00 to $575.00 in a research report on Monday, July 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $535.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $695,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 4,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,317,000. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $695,000.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 4,634 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,317,000. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,389 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $477.56, for a total transaction of $663,330.84. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 6,755 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,225,917.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 2,879 shares of company stock worth $1,410,703. 0.22% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Northrop Grumman Company 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.