Tyche Wealth Partners LLC Invests $308,000 in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Tyche Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 658 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $308,000.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in NOC. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 70,532.5% during the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 637,105 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $347,611,000 after purchasing an additional 636,203 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $283,114,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 502,060 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 10.1% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,488,412 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,975,754,000 after acquiring an additional 410,736 shares in the last quarter. Finally, London Co. of Virginia acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the third quarter valued at approximately $165,786,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In related 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $917,317.28. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 1,273 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.37, for a total value 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 transaction of $322,239.42. Following the completion of 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. Insiders have sold a total of 3,149 shares of company stock worth $1,421,147 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of NOC opened at $451.82 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The firm has a market cap of $66.96 billion, a PE ratio of 33.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.35. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $459.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $464.20. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12-month low of $414.56 and a 12-month high of $496.89.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.80 by $0.47. The business had revenue of $10.64 billion for 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $7.50 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 24.67 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 26th were given a $1.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 23rd. This represents a $7.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.66%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 55.49%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. TheStreet cut shares of Northrop Grumman from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Susquehanna reduced their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $560.00 to $540.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 26th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $450.00 price target (down from $515.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $505.00 to $475.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $494.33.

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.