Vista Capital Partners Inc. Invests $223,000 in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Vista Capital Partners Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 422 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $223,000.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. TFB Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the third quarter valued at approximately $202,000. Portside Wealth Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $974,000. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 7.1% during the 3rd quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS now owns 2,099 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,108,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 166,434 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $87,889,000 after acquiring an additional 4,969 shares during the last quarter. Finally, WoodTrust Financial Corp increased its stake in Northrop Grumman by 5.2% in the third quarter. WoodTrust Financial Corp now owns 11,677 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $6,166,000 after purchasing an additional 577 shares during the period. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Shares of NOC opened at $520.58 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $75.85 billion, a PE ratio of 32.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $523.63 and its 200-day moving average price is $484.30. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1-year low of $418.60 and a 1-year high of $555.57.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.07 by $0.93. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.79% and a return on equity of 26.57%. The company had revenue of $10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.18 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $6.18 EPS. Northrop Grumman’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.95 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The firm 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. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is 51.05%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on NOC. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $474.00 to $575.00 in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded Northrop Grumman to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $550.56.

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.