Sanctuary Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm purchased 38,134 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,322,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. 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 acquiring an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 245.5% in the 2nd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 76 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the 1st quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Riverview Trust Co purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman during the first quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on NOC. StockNews.com raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Northrop Grumman from $530.00 to $500.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut Northrop Grumman from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $477.00 target price for the company. in a report on Friday, June 21st. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $593.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $523.20.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In other news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The stock was 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 directly 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 accessible through this link. In related news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 4,634 shares in the company, valued at $2,317,000. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,389 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, 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 have sold 2,846 shares of company stock valued at $1,393,028 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of NOC opened at $538.85 on Thursday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $79.74 billion, a PE ratio of 37.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.34. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $510.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $473.82. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1 year low of $414.56 and a 1 year high of $555.57.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.36 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $10.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.02 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $5.34 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Shareholders 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 yield of 1.53%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 57.62%.

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.