NewEdge Advisors LLC Purchases 1,142 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 12.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 10,291 shares of the aerospace company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,142 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC's holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $4,829,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of NOC. M&T Bank Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 5.4% during the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 19,726 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $10,417,000 after acquiring an additional 1,002 shares during the period. Tudor Financial Inc. bought a new position in Northrop Grumman during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,130,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Northrop Grumman by 21.5% in the third quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 1,504 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $794,000 after buying an additional 266 shares in the last quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. grew its stake in Northrop Grumman by 9.1% during the third quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. now owns 745 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $393,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 274.1% in the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 2,566 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,355,000 after acquiring an additional 1,880 shares during the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Northrop Grumman Trading Down 1.8 %

Northrop Grumman stock traded down $8.61 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $464.04. The stock had a trading volume of 1,471,453 shares, compared to its average volume of 888,357. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $490.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $491.13. Northrop Grumman Co. has a one year low of $418.60 and a one year high of $555.57. The stock has a market cap of $66.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.37, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The aerospace company reported $6.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $6.33 by ($0.27). Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 26.24%. The firm had revenue of $9.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.07 billion. On average, equities analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. Northrop Grumman's payout ratio is currently 29.08%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NOC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $580.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Argus raised shares of Northrop Grumman to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Northrop Grumman from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $575.00 to $550.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $542.94.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In other news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.65, for a total value of $1,783,687.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 212,852 shares in the company, valued at $101,243,053.80. This trade represents a 1.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 464 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.75, for a total value of $213,788.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 245 shares of the company's stock, valued at $112,883.75. This trade represents a 65.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 4,505 shares of company stock worth $2,127,182. 0.23% 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.