LaFleur & Godfrey LLC Makes New Investment in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

LaFleur & Godfrey LLC purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm purchased 382 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $202,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of NOC. Optimum Investment Advisors raised its stake in Northrop Grumman by 241.2% during the second quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 58 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Bank & Trust Co purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 245.5% in the 2nd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 76 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 1st quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Riverview Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 1st quarter worth about $47,000. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NOC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $593.00 to $605.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. BTIG Research initiated coverage on Northrop Grumman in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $565.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $474.00 to $575.00 in a report on Monday, July 29th. 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 an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $535.00.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 0.5 %

NOC traded up $2.85 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $529.78. The company had a trading volume of 128,942 shares, compared to its average volume of 871,338. The company has a market cap of $78.40 billion, a PE ratio of 36.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.99. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1-year low of $418.60 and a 1-year high of $555.57. The business has a 50-day moving average of $519.44 and a 200-day moving average of $477.71.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.36 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.93 by $0.43. The business had revenue of $10.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.02 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.61% and a return on equity of 25.44%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $5.34 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were issued a $2.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.56%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 57.62%.

Insider Activity

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $695,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 4,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,317,000. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,389 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $477.56, for a total transaction of $663,330.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 6,755 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,225,917.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $695,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 4,634 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,317,000. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 2,879 shares of company stock worth $1,410,703. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.