Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Buys 8,416 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 11.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 84,953 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,416 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC owned 0.06% of Northrop Grumman worth $44,861,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in NOC. Optimum Investment Advisors raised its position in Northrop Grumman by 241.2% during the 2nd 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. Bank & Trust Co purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the second quarter worth $28,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 245.5% in the second 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 in the last quarter. Riverview Trust Co bought a new position in Northrop Grumman in the 1st quarter worth $47,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 281.5% during the 1st quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 103 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 0.5 %

Northrop Grumman stock opened at $530.79 on Monday. Northrop Grumman Co. has a one year low of $418.60 and a one year high of $555.57. The business’s fifty day moving average is $521.74 and its 200 day moving average is $479.08. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $78.55 billion, a PE ratio of 37.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.34.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.36 earnings per share 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 analysts’ expectations of $10.02 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $5.34 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.16 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

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 $2.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.55%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is currently 57.62%.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In other news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,389 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 6,755 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,225,917.80. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,389 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $477.56, for a total transaction of $663,330.84. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 6,755 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,225,917.80. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, 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 transaction of $695,000.00. Following the transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 2,879 shares of company stock valued at $1,410,703. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on NOC shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $474.00 to $575.00 in a report on Monday, July 29th. TD Cowen upgraded Northrop Grumman to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Alembic Global Advisors downgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $560.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $535.00.

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.