Alaethes Wealth LLC Acquires 90 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Alaethes Wealth LLC increased its stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 2,992 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. Alaethes Wealth LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $1,304,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NOC. Accretive Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in Northrop Grumman by 10.5% in the fourth quarter. Accretive Wealth Partners LLC now owns 528 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $247,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 21.9% in the 4th quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 557 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $241,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 37.7% during the 4th quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 694 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $325,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the period. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC bought a new position in Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter valued at about $257,000. Finally, Frazier Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Shares of NOC stock opened at $525.13 on Friday. 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 $77.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.72, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.34. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $496.06 and its 200 day moving average is $469.70. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1-year low of $414.56 and a 1-year high of $528.76.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.36 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.93 by $0.43. The firm had revenue of $10.22 billion during 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $5.34 EPS. Research analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were issued a dividend of $2.06 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.57%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 57.62%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on NOC. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Northrop Grumman from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $467.00 to $509.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Alembic Global Advisors downgraded Northrop Grumman from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $560.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. BTIG Research initiated coverage on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $565.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lowered shares of Northrop Grumman from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $477.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Friday, June 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $523.20.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 4,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $477.56, for a total value of $663,330.84. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 6,755 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,225,917.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 2,846 shares of company stock valued at $1,393,028 in the last three months. 0.22% of the stock is owned by 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.