Essex Financial Services Inc. Has $527,000 Stock Holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Essex Financial Services Inc. increased its position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 10.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,126 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $527,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 64,016 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $29,968,000 after purchasing an additional 653 shares during the last quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 24.0% during the 4th quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC now owns 776 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $363,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the period. MONECO Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter valued at about $226,000. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. increased its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. now owns 3,406 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,594,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC raised its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 17,871 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $8,366,000 after acquiring an additional 1,090 shares during the period. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Alembic Global Advisors raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $532.00 target price for the company in a research note 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. Susquehanna raised their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Northrop Grumman from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $509.38.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of NOC stock opened at $469.09 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12 month low of $414.56 and a 12 month high of $496.89. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $464.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $465.95. The firm has a market cap of $69.42 billion, a PE ratio of 32.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.34.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 24.09% and a net margin of 5.38%. The company had revenue of $10.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.77 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $5.50 EPS. Northrop Grumman’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 24.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 26th were paid a dividend of $1.87 per share. This represents a $7.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 23rd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is currently 52.31%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 1,273 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.37, for a total value of $573,321.01. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,231,761.95. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 1,273 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.37, for a total value of $573,321.01. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,231,761.95. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 711 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $453.22, for a total value of $322,239.42. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,024 shares in the company, valued at $917,317.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 3,149 shares of company stock valued at $1,421,147. 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.