Benjamin Edwards Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 252.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,061 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,910 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $2,146,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of NOC. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $212,000. Wesbanco Bank Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 5.5% during the 2nd quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 1,984 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $865,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. CX Institutional increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 5,710 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,489,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $90,177,000. Finally, CRA Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $201,000. 83.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Shares of NOC stock opened at $486.62 on Thursday. Northrop Grumman Co. has a twelve month low of $418.60 and a twelve month high of $555.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.15, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.33. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $514.50 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $487.65. 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 (NYSE:NOC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.18 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $6.18 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a dividend of $2.06 per share. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.69%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 51.05%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on NOC shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Northrop Grumman from $509.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Alembic Global Advisors downgraded Northrop Grumman from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $560.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Northrop Grumman from $614.00 to $643.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Susquehanna boosted their target price on Northrop Grumman from $560.00 to $625.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on Northrop Grumman from $521.00 to $587.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $550.56.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was 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 directly owns 537 shares in the company, valued at $286,183.41. This represents a 68.28 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders sold 1,222 shares of company stock worth $650,575 in the last three months. 0.22% of the stock is 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.