&Partners Buys 871 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

&Partners raised its stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 191.9% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,325 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 871 shares during the period. &Partners’ holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $578,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of NOC. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Northrop Grumman by 960.0% in the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 53 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Optimum Investment Advisors lifted its position in Northrop Grumman by 241.2% during the second quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 58 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Bank & Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NOC opened at $509.34 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $75.38 billion, a PE ratio of 35.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.11. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $460.85 and its 200 day moving average price is $460.63. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1 year low of $414.56 and a 1 year high of $511.87.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.93 by $0.43. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.61% and a return on equity of 25.44%. The business had revenue of $10.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.02 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $5.34 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd will be paid a dividend of $2.06 per share. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.62%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 3rd. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is 57.62%.

Insider Activity

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,389 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $477.56, for a total transaction of $663,330.84. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 6,755 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,225,917.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal 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 Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $695,000.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 4,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,317,000. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,389 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $477.56, for a total transaction of $663,330.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 6,755 shares in the company, valued at $3,225,917.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Susquehanna upped their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Northrop Grumman from $593.00 to $605.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Northrop Grumman from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $521.33.

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.