Centaurus Financial Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Centaurus Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 348.4% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,825 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,418 shares during the period. Centaurus Financial Inc.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $796,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in NOC. Ascent Group LLC grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 0.5% during the second quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 4,337 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,891,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 4.6% during the 2nd quarter. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 500 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $218,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the period. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group raised its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group now owns 1,467 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $640,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the period. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 2.4% in the first quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 965 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $462,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 1.1% during the second quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,068 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $902,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the period. 83.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on NOC shares. BTIG Research began coverage on Northrop Grumman in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. They set a “buy” rating and a $565.00 price target for the company. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $474.00 to $575.00 in a report on Monday, July 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered Northrop Grumman from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $477.00 price target for the company. in a report on Friday, June 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $592.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $523.20.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

NYSE NOC opened at $536.74 on Friday. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12-month low of $414.56 and a 12-month high of $555.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $513.44 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $474.77. The firm has a market cap of $79.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.53, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.34.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.93 by $0.43. The firm 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 revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $5.34 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.14 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.54%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.62%.

Insider Activity

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,389 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $477.56, for a total transaction of $663,330.84. Following the sale, the vice president now directly 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $695,000.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 4,634 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,317,000. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,389 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The stock was 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 2,846 shares of company stock valued at $1,393,028. Corporate 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.