Golden State Equity Partners Grows Stock Holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Golden State Equity Partners grew its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 7.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 779 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 52 shares during the quarter. Golden State Equity Partners’ holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $365,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Wesbanco Bank Inc. grew its stake in Northrop Grumman by 1.2% during the third quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 1,782 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $784,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the period. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. now owns 524 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $245,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC now owns 844 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $395,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 4.0% during the third quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 604 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $266,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 16.2% during the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 165 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $73,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In other 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,231,761.95. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 955 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.37, for a total transaction of $430,103.35. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,137 shares in the company, valued at $1,863,180.69. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 owns 2,735 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,231,761.95. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 3,149 shares of company stock valued at $1,421,147 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Down 1.6 %

NOC opened at $480.45 on Friday. Northrop Grumman Co. has a one year low of $414.56 and a one year high of $496.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.13. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $462.59 and its 200-day moving average is $465.77. The company has a market capitalization of $71.20 billion, a PE ratio of 33.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.35.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.32 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 company had revenue of $10.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.77 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $5.50 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 24.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on NOC shares. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday. TheStreet cut shares of Northrop Grumman from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. StockNews.com raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Susquehanna upped their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Alembic Global Advisors raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $532.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, April 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $503.00.

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.