Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV Acquires 20 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV raised its holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 0.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,262 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the quarter. Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $1,194,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Norden Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the first quarter valued at about $778,000. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. boosted its position in Northrop Grumman by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 2,859 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,368,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the period. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 965 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $462,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Veracity Capital LLC increased its position in Northrop Grumman by 27.1% in the 1st quarter. Veracity Capital LLC now owns 990 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $474,000 after acquiring an additional 211 shares during the period. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 6.9% during the first quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 21,753 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $10,412,000 after acquiring an additional 1,404 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Shares of NOC opened at $505.45 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $73.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.34. The business’s fifty day moving average is $523.58 and its 200 day moving average is $482.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12-month low of $418.60 and a 12-month high of $555.57.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.07 by $0.93. The company had revenue of $10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 last year, the company earned $6.18 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were issued a dividend of $2.06 per share. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.63%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 3rd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.05%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on NOC. StockNews.com raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 12th. UBS Group increased their price target on Northrop Grumman from $614.00 to $643.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Alembic Global Advisors cut Northrop Grumman from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $560.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $521.00 to $587.00 and gave the company 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 issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $550.56.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $695,000.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 4,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,490 shares of company stock valued at $747,372. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman 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.