Eagle Wealth Strategies LLC Takes Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Eagle Wealth Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 1,000 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $468,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of NOC. CX Institutional raised its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 6.2% during the third quarter. CX Institutional now owns 648 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $285,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Equity Partners increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 7.2% during the third quarter. Golden State Equity Partners now owns 727 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $320,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the period. My Legacy Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 4.7% during the third quarter. My Legacy Advisors LLC now owns 1,528 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $673,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 16.8% during the third quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 2,903 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,278,000 after buying an additional 418 shares during the period. Finally, PDS Planning Inc increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 13.9% during the third quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 885 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $390,000 after buying an additional 108 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Down 1.6 %

NOC stock opened at $480.45 on Monday. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52 week low of $414.56 and a 52 week high of $496.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $71.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $462.59 and a 200-day simple moving average of $465.72.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.83 by $0.49. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.38% and a return on equity of 24.09%. The business had revenue of $10.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.77 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $5.50 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 24.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 26th were paid a $1.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 23rd. This represents a $7.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.56%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.31%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 955 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.37, for a total value of $430,103.35. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,137 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,863,180.69. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 955 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.37, for a total value of $430,103.35. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,137 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,863,180.69. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 210 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $454.68, for a total transaction of $95,482.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,127 shares in the company, valued at $1,421,784.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 3,149 shares of company stock valued at $1,421,147 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on NOC. Alembic Global Advisors raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $532.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, April 22nd. TheStreet lowered shares of Northrop Grumman from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. StockNews.com raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $503.00.

About Northrop Grumman

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.