Bleakley Financial Group LLC Increases Stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Bleakley Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 8.5% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 8,220 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 647 shares during the quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $4,341,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of NOC. Optimum Investment Advisors grew its stake in Northrop Grumman by 241.2% during the 2nd quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 58 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 245.5% in the 2nd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 76 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the period. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman during the 1st quarter worth approximately $47,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 281.5% during the 1st quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 103 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 0.5 %

NOC stock opened at $530.79 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $521.74 and its 200 day moving average is $478.84. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12-month low of $418.60 and a 12-month high of $555.57. The stock has a market cap of $78.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.12, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.36 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.93 by $0.43. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 25.44% and a net margin of 5.61%. The firm had revenue of $10.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.02 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $5.34 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were paid a dividend of $2.06 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.55%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is presently 57.62%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NOC has been the topic of a number of research reports. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Northrop Grumman from $467.00 to $509.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut Northrop Grumman from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $477.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Friday, June 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $535.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In other news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $695,000.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 4,634 shares in the company, valued at $2,317,000. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $695,000.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 4,634 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,317,000. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,389 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $477.56, for a total value of $663,330.84. Following the completion of the sale, 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 quarter, insiders sold 2,879 shares of company stock worth $1,410,703. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

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.