457 Shares in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Purchased by Crewe Advisors LLC

Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 457 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $219,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 960.0% in the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 53 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 247.6% in the 4th quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 73 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC bought a new position in Northrop Grumman in the 1st quarter worth about $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

NYSE:NOC traded up $28.41 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $470.53. 2,050,294 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 974,075. The company has a market capitalization of $69.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.33. 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 1.02, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $441.27 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $455.43.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.83 by $0.49. The firm had revenue of $10.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.77 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.38% and a return on equity of 24.09%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $5.50 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 24.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 28th were issued a dividend of $2.06 per share. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.75%. This is a boost from Northrop Grumman’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.87. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 24th. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.62%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Susquehanna upped their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Royal Bank of Canada upped 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, April 26th. BTIG Research began coverage on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $565.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 12th. Finally, Alembic Global Advisors upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $532.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, April 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $510.36.

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.