Baker Avenue Asset Management LP Makes New Investment in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Baker Avenue Asset Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 398 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $210,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Headlands Technologies LLC increased its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 150.0% in the 1st quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 135 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the period. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 1st quarter valued at about $304,000. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 9.8% in the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 160,328 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $74,027,000 after purchasing an additional 14,275 shares during the period. Texas Yale Capital Corp. increased its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Texas Yale Capital Corp. now owns 1,610 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $771,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Finally, Souders Financial Advisors increased its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 14.0% in the 1st quarter. Souders Financial Advisors now owns 920 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $440,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Down 0.4 %

NOC opened at $531.38 on Wednesday. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1-year low of $418.60 and a 1-year high of $555.57. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $77.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.35. The business has a 50 day moving average of $523.97 and a 200-day moving average of $485.43.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.07 by $0.93. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.57% and a net margin of 5.79%. The company had revenue of $10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.18 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $6.18 earnings per share. Northrop Grumman’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were given a $2.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.55%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is 51.05%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on NOC. TD Cowen upgraded Northrop Grumman to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $614.00 to $643.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Barclays boosted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, Alembic Global Advisors cut Northrop Grumman from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $560.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $550.56.

Northrop Grumman 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.