Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. Buys 519 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. raised its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 2.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 20,262 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 519 shares during the quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $9,486,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Providence Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 400.0% in the third quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the third quarter valued at about $70,000. Rational Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the third quarter valued at about $72,000. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 16.2% in the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 165 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $73,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 210 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $454.68, for a total value of $95,482.80. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,127 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,421,784.36. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 210 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,421,784.36. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 1,273 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.37, for a total value of $573,321.01. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 2,735 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,231,761.95. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 3,149 shares of company stock worth $1,421,147. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $450.00 price objective (down from $515.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Friday, January 26th. StockNews.com lowered Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Susquehanna decreased their target price on Northrop Grumman from $560.00 to $540.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Northrop Grumman from $505.00 to $475.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, TheStreet lowered Northrop Grumman from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $497.23.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 2.3 %

Shares of NYSE:NOC traded up $10.85 during trading on Thursday, hitting $485.42. 556,961 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 991,220. The company has a market cap of $71.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $461.24 and a 200-day moving average price of $465.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52 week low of $414.56 and a 52 week high of $496.89.

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

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 26th were paid a $1.87 dividend. This represents a $7.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 23rd. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is 55.49%.

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.