Smart Money Group LLC Buys 91 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Smart Money Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 19.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 557 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 91 shares during the period. Smart Money Group LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $261,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brookstone Capital Management raised its position in Northrop Grumman by 16.8% in the 3rd quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 2,903 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,278,000 after buying an additional 418 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 4.3% in the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 48,552 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $21,372,000 after acquiring an additional 1,996 shares during the period. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in Northrop Grumman by 28.4% in the third quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 777 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $342,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 604 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $266,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the period. Finally, Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 31.0% during the third quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 5,870 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,584,000 after buying an additional 1,389 shares during the period. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Northrop Grumman Stock Down 2.3 %

Northrop Grumman stock traded down $11.37 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $475.00. 1,342,544 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,008,500. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.13. The company has a market cap of $70.30 billion, a PE ratio of 33.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.34. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $464.44 and a two-hundred day moving average of $465.89. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12 month low of $414.56 and a 12 month high of $496.89.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.32 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.83 by $0.49. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.38% and a return on equity of 24.09%. 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 firm posted $5.50 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 24.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 26th were issued a $1.87 dividend. This represents a $7.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.57%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 23rd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is currently 52.31%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on NOC shares. Alembic Global Advisors upgraded 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. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $483.00 to $518.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Northrop Grumman from $475.00 to $505.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Susquehanna increased their target price on Northrop Grumman from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $509.38.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In related news, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 1,273 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.37, for a total transaction of $573,321.01. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,735 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,231,761.95. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 1,273 shares of Northrop Grumman 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,735 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,231,761.95. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 955 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 $430,103.35. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,137 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,863,180.69. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 3,149 shares of company stock valued at $1,421,147. Corporate 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.