7,743 Shares in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Purchased by Meridian Wealth Management LLC

Meridian Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 7,743 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,089,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NOC. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 551.8% in the 3rd quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 7,411 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $3,914,000 after acquiring an additional 6,274 shares during the last quarter. GM Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter valued at about $226,000. First County Bank CT lifted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 32.2% in the 3rd quarter. First County Bank CT now owns 825 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $436,000 after acquiring an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. Darden Wealth Group Inc bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter valued at about $227,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 809,445 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $427,444,000 after acquiring an additional 3,211 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 0.0 %

Shares of NOC stock opened at $496.52 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $72.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.35. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $521.05 and its 200-day moving average price is $486.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12-month low of $418.60 and a 12-month high of $555.57.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.07 by $0.93. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.79% and a return on equity of 26.57%. The business had revenue of $10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.18 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $6.18 earnings per share. Northrop Grumman’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a dividend of $2.06 per share. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.66%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.05%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on NOC. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $474.00 to $575.00 in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Alembic Global Advisors downgraded Northrop Grumman from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $560.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Susquehanna boosted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $560.00 to $625.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $550.56.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total transaction of $616,067.08. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $286,183.41. This trade represents a 68.28 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,289 shares of company stock valued at $685,273. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

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.