Aviance Capital Partners LLC Makes New Investment in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Aviance Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 2,220 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,063,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 960.0% during the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 53 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC boosted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 247.6% during the 4th quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 73 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the 1st quarter worth approximately $38,000. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of NOC opened at $435.00 on Tuesday. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1 year low of $414.56 and a 1 year high of $496.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $456.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $459.11. The firm has a market cap of $64.38 billion, a PE ratio of 30.42, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.33.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.83 by $0.49. The business had revenue of $10.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.77 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 24.09% and a net margin of 5.38%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $5.50 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 24.7 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 28th were issued a $2.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 24th. This is an increase from Northrop Grumman’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.87. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.89%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 57.62%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NOC has been the topic of several analyst reports. BTIG Research started coverage on Northrop Grumman in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. They set a “buy” rating and a $565.00 target price on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $530.00 to $500.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $475.00 to $505.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $483.00 to $518.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. Finally, Alembic Global Advisors upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $532.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $510.36.

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.