Portside Wealth Group LLC Makes New $974,000 Investment in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Portside Wealth Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 1,844 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $974,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Optimum Investment Advisors raised its position in Northrop Grumman by 241.2% during the 2nd quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 58 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman during the second quarter worth about $28,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Northrop Grumman by 245.5% in the second quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 76 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $47,000. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on NOC. StockNews.com upgraded Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 12th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $614.00 to $643.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $521.00 to $587.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $550.56.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

NYSE:NOC opened at $529.02 on Friday. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12-month low of $418.60 and a 12-month high of $555.57. The firm has a market cap of $77.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.35. The company’s 50-day moving average is $523.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $484.96. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.07 by $0.93. The business had revenue of $10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.18 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.79% and a return on equity of 26.57%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $6.18 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.95 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were given a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 3rd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.05%.

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.