Paradigm Financial Partners LLC Raises Stock Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Paradigm Financial Partners LLC lifted its stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 1.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,019 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the quarter. Paradigm Financial Partners LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $2,818,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. London Co. of Virginia acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the third quarter valued at about $165,786,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in Northrop Grumman by 74.7% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,174,556 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $517,028,000 after purchasing an additional 502,060 shares during the period. Raymond James Trust N.A. raised its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 19.7% in the 4th quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 16,515 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $7,731,000 after buying an additional 2,723 shares during the period. Phraction Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the third quarter valued at approximately $677,000. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 2,801.7% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 330,499 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $154,720,000 after buying an additional 319,109 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 1,273 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.37, for a total transaction of $573,321.01. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 2,735 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,231,761.95. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 1,273 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.37, for a total value of $573,321.01. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,735 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,231,761.95. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 711 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $453.22, for a total transaction of $322,239.42. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,024 shares in the company, valued at $917,317.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 3,149 shares of company stock worth $1,421,147. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

NYSE NOC traded down $7.61 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $480.45. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,371,947 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,120,454. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $462.59 and a 200 day simple moving average of $465.77. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52 week low of $414.56 and a 52 week high of $496.89. The stock has a market cap of $71.20 billion, a PE ratio of 33.60, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.35.

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

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 26th were paid a dividend of $1.87 per share. This represents a $7.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 23rd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.31%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on NOC. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday. Alembic Global Advisors raised Northrop Grumman from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $532.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, April 22nd. TheStreet cut shares of Northrop Grumman from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $475.00 to $505.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.