Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Shares Bought by Capital Investment Counsel LLC

Capital Investment Counsel LLC lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 0.8% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 17,332 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the quarter. Northrop Grumman makes up about 1.6% of Capital Investment Counsel LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Capital Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $9,153,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Optimum Investment Advisors grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 241.2% during the 2nd quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 58 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman in the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Northrop Grumman by 245.5% in the 2nd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 76 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the period. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the second quarter worth $47,000. 83.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on NOC shares. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $521.00 to $587.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $614.00 to $643.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $509.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Barclays increased their target price on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $550.56.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE:NOC opened at $496.87 on Friday. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52-week low of $418.60 and a 52-week high of $555.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $520.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $486.84. The company has a market capitalization of $72.39 billion, a PE ratio of 30.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 0.35.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.07 by $0.93. The company had revenue of $10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.18 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.79% and a return on equity of 26.57%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $6.18 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is currently 51.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In other news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total value of $616,067.08. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 537 shares in the company, valued at $286,183.41. This represents a 68.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,289 shares of company stock worth $685,273. 0.22% of the stock is owned by 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.