Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Shares Acquired by Balboa Wealth Partners

Balboa Wealth Partners boosted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 35.9% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,023 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 270 shares during the period. Balboa Wealth Partners’ holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $540,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Headlands Technologies LLC lifted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 150.0% during the first quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 135 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 1st quarter worth $304,000. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC raised its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 2.6% during the first quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 1,546 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $740,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 18.4% during the first quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 1,436 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $687,000 after purchasing an additional 223 shares during the last quarter. Finally, 1ST Source Bank boosted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 9.3% in the 1st quarter. 1ST Source Bank now owns 1,049 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $502,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the period. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NOC opened at $500.34 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $524.08 and its 200-day moving average is $486.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.90 billion, a PE ratio of 31.00, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.35. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1-year low of $418.60 and a 1-year high of $555.57.

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

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were issued a $2.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.65%. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is presently 51.05%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on NOC. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $521.00 to $587.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. UBS Group increased their target price on Northrop Grumman from $614.00 to $643.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. StockNews.com upgraded Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $474.00 to $575.00 in a research report on Monday, July 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $550.56.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total transaction of $616,067.08. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $286,183.41. This trade represents a 68.28 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders sold 1,289 shares of company stock worth $685,273 in the last 90 days. 0.22% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.