Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC Purchases Shares of 527 Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

by · The Cerbat Gem

Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC – Free Report) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 527 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $281,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Capital International Investors raised its position in Northrop Grumman by 5.6% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 11,747,646 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $5,623,128,000 after purchasing an additional 621,636 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 4.8% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,634,043 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,218,132,000 after buying an additional 211,459 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,688,511 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,765,543,000 after buying an additional 23,398 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 16.0% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,087,913 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $474,276,000 after buying an additional 150,367 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 22.4% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 683,427 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $297,937,000 after buying an additional 125,262 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

NYSE NOC opened at $528.70 on Friday. 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 cap of $78.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.97, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.34. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $517.80 and a 200 day simple moving average of $476.93. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52-week low of $418.60 and a 52-week high of $555.57.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.93 by $0.43. The company had revenue of $10.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.02 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.61% and a return on equity of 25.44%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $5.34 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.16 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, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were issued a $2.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.56%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 57.62%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NOC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Alembic Global Advisors cut Northrop Grumman from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $560.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $467.00 to $509.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $521.00 to $587.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. BTIG Research assumed coverage on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $565.00 target price for the company. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $527.19.

Check Out Our Latest Report on NOC

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

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 stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value 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. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of the firm’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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 4,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,317,000. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,389 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 6,755 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,225,917.80. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 2,879 shares of company stock valued at $1,410,703 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

About Northrop Grumman

(Free Report)

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.

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