Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Position Boosted by Talbot Financial LLC

Talbot Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 3.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 24,398 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 783 shares during the period. Northrop Grumman makes up 1.6% of Talbot Financial LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. Talbot Financial LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $11,678,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 960.0% during the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 53 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC lifted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 247.6% during the fourth quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 73 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the first quarter valued at about $38,000. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of Northrop Grumman stock traded down $0.95 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $435.00. The company had a trading volume of 719,052 shares, compared to its average volume of 995,653. The stock has a market cap of $64.38 billion, a PE ratio of 30.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.33. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1-year low of $414.56 and a 1-year high of $496.89. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $456.07 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $459.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.83 by $0.49. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.38% and a return on equity of 24.09%. The company had revenue of $10.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.77 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $5.50 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 24.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 28th were paid a $2.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 24th. This is a boost from Northrop Grumman’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.87. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.89%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is 57.62%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on NOC shares. BTIG Research started coverage on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. They set a “buy” rating and a $565.00 price objective for the company. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $475.00 to $505.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $530.00 to $500.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded Northrop Grumman from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $477.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Friday, June 21st. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $510.36.

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.