Aptus Capital Advisors LLC Increases Stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,937 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the period. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $1,023,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Optimum Investment Advisors raised its stake in Northrop Grumman by 241.2% in the 2nd 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 last quarter. Bank & Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the second quarter worth about $28,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 245.5% during the second 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. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $52,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Trading Down 3.9 %

Shares of Northrop Grumman stock opened at $500.34 on Friday. 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 Co. has a twelve month low of $418.60 and a twelve month high of $555.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.90 billion, a PE ratio of 31.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.35. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $524.08 and its 200 day moving average price is $486.03.

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

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 1.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is 51.05%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NOC has been the topic of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $592.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, TD Cowen raised Northrop Grumman to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $550.56.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total transaction of $616,067.08. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $286,183.41. This represents a 68.28 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders sold 1,289 shares of company stock worth $685,273 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

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.