Apollon Wealth Management LLC Boosts Holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Apollon Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 17.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,909 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 878 shares during the period. Apollon Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $3,121,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Capital International Investors increased its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 5.6% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 11,747,646 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $5,623,128,000 after acquiring an additional 621,636 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in Northrop Grumman by 1,915.9% during the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 438,521 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $191,173,000 after purchasing an additional 416,768 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 4.8% in the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,634,043 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,218,132,000 after buying an additional 211,459 shares during the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the second quarter worth $90,177,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the second quarter valued at $74,206,000. 83.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NOC opened at $531.38 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.09. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $523.97 and a 200 day moving average of $485.43. The firm has a market cap of $77.42 billion, a PE ratio of 32.92, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.35. Northrop Grumman Co. has a one year low of $418.60 and a one year high of $555.57.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.07 by $0.93. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.79% and a return on equity of 26.57%. The firm had revenue of $10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.18 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $6.18 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were paid a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.05%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on NOC. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $474.00 to $575.00 in a report on Monday, July 29th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $509.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $614.00 to $643.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $550.56.

Northrop Grumman 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.