Birchcreek Wealth Management LLC Takes Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Birchcreek Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 465 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $218,000.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Providence Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 400.0% during 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 Northrop Grumman in the third quarter worth approximately $70,000. Finally, Rational Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 3rd quarter worth $72,000. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

NOC stock opened at $486.72 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.13. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $463.30 and its 200-day moving average price is $465.78. Northrop Grumman Co. has a one year low of $414.56 and a one year high of $496.89. The company has a market capitalization of $72.03 billion, a PE ratio of 34.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.35.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.32 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.83 by $0.49. The business had revenue of $10.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.77 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.38% and a return on equity of 24.09%. The business’s revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $5.50 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 24.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 26th were paid a dividend of $1.87 per share. This represents a $7.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 23rd. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is presently 52.31%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on NOC shares. StockNews.com upgraded Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. TheStreet cut Northrop Grumman from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $475.00 to $505.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Alembic Global Advisors raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $532.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, April 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $503.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In related news, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 210 shares of the company’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 $1,421,784.36. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Northrop Grumman news, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 955 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.37, for a total value of $430,103.35. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,137 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,863,180.69. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 210 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $454.68, for a total value of $95,482.80. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,127 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,421,784.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 3,149 shares of company stock worth $1,421,147 in the last quarter. 0.22% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Northrop Grumman 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.