Altfest L J & Co. Inc. Acquires 248 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Altfest L J & Co. Inc. raised its stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 30.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,071 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 248 shares during the period. Altfest L J & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $501,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State of Wyoming increased its position in Northrop Grumman by 76.5% during the 4th quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 60 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the period. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the third quarter valued at $29,000. IMA Wealth Inc. grew its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 196.3% during the 2nd quarter. IMA Wealth Inc. now owns 80 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the period. Providence Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 400.0% in the 3rd quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Finally, West Tower Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 2nd quarter valued at about $48,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of NOC traded up $1.18 on Thursday, reaching $478.54. 233,276 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 939,958. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $457.07 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $461.20. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. 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 $71.80 billion, a PE ratio of 35.58, a PEG ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.34.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.80 by $0.47. The firm had revenue of $10.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.43 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 23.07% and a net margin of 5.23%. The business’s revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $7.50 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 24.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wolfe Research downgraded Northrop Grumman from a “peer perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $450.00 target price for the company. in a report on Thursday, December 14th. Susquehanna reduced their target price on Northrop Grumman from $560.00 to $540.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $450.00 price target (down from $515.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $541.00 to $473.00 in a report on Friday, December 15th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $494.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Northrop Grumman news, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 955 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 value of $430,103.35. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,137 shares in the company, valued at $1,863,180.69. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 210 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $1,421,784.36. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 955 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,137 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,863,180.69. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 3,149 shares of company stock valued at $1,421,147. 0.26% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.