KFA Private Wealth Group LLC Purchases Shares of 449 Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

KFA Private Wealth Group LLC purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 449 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $210,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the third quarter valued at $29,000. Providence Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in Northrop Grumman by 400.0% in the third quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the third quarter worth about $70,000. Rational Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the third quarter worth about $72,000. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 16.2% during the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 165 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $73,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

NOC traded down $7.53 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $480.53. The company had a trading volume of 1,371,921 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,006,915. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.15. The stock has a market cap of $71.21 billion, a PE ratio of 35.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.35. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12-month low of $414.56 and a 12-month high of $496.89. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $462.59 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $465.77.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.83 by $0.49. The firm had revenue of $10.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.77 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.23% and a return on equity of 23.07%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $5.50 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 24.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 26th were paid a $1.87 dividend. This represents a $7.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 23rd. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is 55.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In related news, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 210 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $454.68, for a total value of $95,482.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,127 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,421,784.36. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 711 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $453.22, for a total transaction of $322,239.42. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,024 shares in the company, valued at $917,317.28. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 210 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $454.68, for a total transaction of $95,482.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,127 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,421,784.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 3,149 shares of company stock worth $1,421,147 over the last three months. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on NOC. TheStreet downgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Alembic Global Advisors raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $532.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday. Susquehanna boosted their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $475.00 to $505.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $503.00.

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.