Traynor Capital Management Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Traynor Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 9.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 25,386 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 2,209 shares during the period. Northrop Grumman makes up approximately 0.8% of Traynor Capital Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Traynor Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $11,914,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of NOC. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,140,892 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,186,681,000 after acquiring an additional 17,596 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Northrop Grumman by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,003,360 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,581,644,000 after purchasing an additional 18,791 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 6.2% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,426,270 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,315,729,000 after purchasing an additional 141,816 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 16.0% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,087,913 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $474,276,000 after buying an additional 150,367 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.4% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 809,445 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $427,444,000 after buying an additional 3,211 shares during the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Northrop Grumman from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $595.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. TD Cowen raised Northrop Grumman to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Barclays cut their price target on Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $500.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Susquehanna lowered their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $625.00 to $557.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $587.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $550.94.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In other news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total value of $616,067.08. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $286,183.41. This trade represents a 68.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders sold a total of 1,255 shares of company stock valued at $663,859 in the last three months. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Northrop Grumman Stock Down 0.5 %

NYSE:NOC opened at $502.03 on Thursday. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1-year low of $418.60 and a 1-year high of $555.57. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $73.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.10, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.35. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $478.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $495.31.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.18 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.57% and a net margin of 5.79%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $6.18 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.95 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were given a $2.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.64%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 51.05%.

Northrop Grumman declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the aerospace company to purchase up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.