Nvest Financial LLC Purchases 58 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Nvest Financial LLC increased its position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 6.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 964 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. Nvest Financial LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $461,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. London Co. of Virginia bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the third quarter valued at about $165,786,000. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1,402.9% in the first quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd now owns 12,925 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $6,186,000 after acquiring an additional 12,065 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 7,574.5% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 123,637 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $57,879,000 after acquiring an additional 122,026 shares during the period. Raymond James Trust N.A. boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 19.7% in the fourth quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 16,515 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $7,731,000 after acquiring an additional 2,723 shares during the period. Finally, Red Mountain Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter worth about $264,000. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on NOC shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $483.00 to $518.00 in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. BTIG Research started coverage on Northrop Grumman in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $565.00 price objective for the company. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $475.00 to $505.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lowered Northrop Grumman from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $477.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Friday, June 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $510.36.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 0.5 %

NOC stock traded up $2.37 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $437.37. 503,932 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 991,752. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52-week low of $414.56 and a 52-week high of $496.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.13. The business has a 50 day moving average of $455.35 and a 200-day moving average of $458.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $64.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.33.

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

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 28th were paid a dividend of $2.06 per share. This is a boost from Northrop Grumman’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.87. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 24th. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.88%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.