Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Shares Purchased by Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc.

Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 5.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,148 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the period. Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $1,006,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Toth Financial Advisory Corp grew its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 19.1% in the third quarter. Toth Financial Advisory Corp now owns 131 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. lifted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 1.2% in the third quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 1,782 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $784,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Patten Group Inc. lifted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 0.6% in the third quarter. Patten Group Inc. now owns 3,523 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,551,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. lifted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. now owns 524 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $245,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Finally, IHT Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 1.6% in the first quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,371 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $613,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Susquehanna decreased their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $560.00 to $540.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 26th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the company from $541.00 to $473.00 in a report on Friday, December 15th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $450.00 price target (down previously from $515.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $505.00 to $475.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $494.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 711 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $453.22, for a total value of $322,239.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $917,317.28. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $917,317.28. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 210 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,127 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,421,784.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 3,149 shares of company stock valued at $1,421,147 over the last 90 days. 0.26% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NOC traded up $3.09 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $480.45. 88,998 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 938,015. The firm has a market cap of $72.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.34. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $457.07 and a 200 day simple moving average of $461.20. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12-month low of $414.56 and a 12-month high of $496.89. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93.

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

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 23rd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is presently 55.49%.

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.