EP Wealth Advisors LLC Increases Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

EP Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 2.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,741 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 383 shares during the quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $8,971,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd raised its position in Northrop Grumman by 1,402.9% in the first quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd now owns 12,925 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $6,186,000 after purchasing an additional 12,065 shares during the period. Diversify Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the first quarter worth $870,000. Norden Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the first quarter worth $778,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 7,574.5% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 123,637 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $57,879,000 after acquiring an additional 122,026 shares during the period. Finally, Red Mountain Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter worth $264,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NOC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Susquehanna upped their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $475.00 to $505.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $467.00 to $509.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Northrop Grumman from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, BTIG Research assumed coverage on Northrop Grumman in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $565.00 target price on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $515.07.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

NYSE NOC traded up $9.72 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $480.29. The company had a trading volume of 914,793 shares, compared to its average volume of 973,891. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.13. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1-year low of $414.56 and a 1-year high of $496.89. The company has a market cap of $71.08 billion, a PE ratio of 33.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.33. The business has a 50 day moving average of $441.27 and a 200-day moving average of $455.43.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.95 by $0.41. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.38% and a return on equity of 24.09%. The business had revenue of $10.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.02 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $5.34 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 24.71 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 28th were paid a dividend of $2.06 per share. This is an increase from Northrop Grumman’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.87. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 24th. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.72%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is 57.62%.

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.