Verus Capital Partners LLC Sells 422 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Verus Capital Partners LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 2.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,999 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 422 shares during the quarter. Northrop Grumman comprises approximately 0.8% of Verus Capital Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Verus Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $8,449,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Optimum Investment Advisors lifted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 241.2% in the second quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 58 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the period. Bank & Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 245.5% during the 2nd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 76 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman during the 3rd quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the second quarter valued at approximately $52,000. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 0.9 %

NYSE:NOC opened at $533.70 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $77.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.35. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $523.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $485.43. Northrop Grumman Co. has a fifty-two week low of $418.60 and a fifty-two week high of $555.57.

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

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were issued a dividend of $2.06 per share. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.05%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on NOC. Susquehanna increased their target price on Northrop Grumman from $560.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Alembic Global Advisors downgraded Northrop Grumman from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $560.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $614.00 to $643.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $474.00 to $575.00 in a report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on Northrop Grumman from $521.00 to $587.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. One equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman presently has a consensus 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.