Baron Wealth Management LLC Grows Stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Baron Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 6.8% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 506 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $267,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Ascent Group LLC increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 4,337 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,891,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Northrop Grumman by 0.9% in the third quarter. Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 2,141 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,131,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Asset Dedication LLC grew its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.0% during the third quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 2,025 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,069,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.4% during the third quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,478 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $780,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Finally, PBMares Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 0.5% in the third quarter. PBMares Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,421 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,335,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NOC opened at $488.68 on Tuesday. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52-week low of $418.60 and a 52-week high of $555.57. The company has a market cap of $71.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 0.35. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $522.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $486.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.09.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.07 by $0.93. The business had revenue of $10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.18 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.79% and a return on equity of 26.57%. The company’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 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were paid a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.05%.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total transaction of $616,067.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 537 shares in the company, valued at $286,183.41. The trade was a 68.28 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 1,289 shares of company stock valued at $685,273. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NOC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. TD Cowen upgraded Northrop Grumman to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. StockNews.com raised Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Citigroup upped their target price on Northrop Grumman from $521.00 to $587.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Alembic Global Advisors lowered Northrop Grumman from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $560.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $474.00 to $575.00 in a report on Monday, July 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $550.56.

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.