Procyon Advisors LLC Acquires 497 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Procyon Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 7.9% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 6,800 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 497 shares during the period. Procyon Advisors LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $3,183,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in NOC. Cibc World Market Inc. grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 59.4% in the 1st quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 7,390 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $3,305,000 after buying an additional 2,753 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd. boosted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 41.4% during the 1st quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 3,445 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,541,000 after purchasing an additional 1,008 shares during the last quarter. Prudential PLC acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman during the 1st quarter valued at about $1,514,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 21.6% during the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,390 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $622,000 after purchasing an additional 247 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zions Bancorporation N.A. boosted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 11.0% during the 1st quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 1,890 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $845,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:NOC traded up $2.21 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $479.57. The company had a trading volume of 46,072 shares, compared to its average volume of 937,225. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The firm has a market cap of $71.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.41, a PEG ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.34. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $457.07 and its 200-day moving average price is $461.20. Northrop Grumman Co. has a one year low of $414.56 and a one year high of $496.89.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.27 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.80 by $0.47. The company had revenue of $10.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.43 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.23% and a return on equity of 23.07%. Northrop Grumman’s revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $7.50 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 24.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 26th were issued a $1.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 23rd. This represents a $7.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.56%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 955 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.37, for a total value of $430,103.35. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,137 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,863,180.69. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Northrop Grumman news, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 210 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $454.68, for a total transaction of $95,482.80. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,127 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,421,784.36. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 955 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.37, for a total transaction of $430,103.35. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,137 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,863,180.69. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 3,149 shares of company stock valued at $1,421,147. 0.26% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on NOC shares. TheStreet downgraded Northrop Grumman from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $450.00 price target (down previously from $515.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Wolfe Research downgraded Northrop Grumman from a “peer perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $450.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Thursday, December 14th. Susquehanna cut their price target on Northrop Grumman from $560.00 to $540.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $494.33.

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.