Freestone Capital Holdings LLC Buys 74 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Freestone Capital Holdings LLC increased its stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 9.7% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 835 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the period. Freestone Capital Holdings LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $400,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Bogart Wealth LLC raised its position in Northrop Grumman by 14.1% in the 1st quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 170 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $81,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC now owns 844 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $395,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the period. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 965 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $462,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the period. Gradient Investments LLC grew its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 493 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $231,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the period. Finally, Renasant Bank grew its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. Renasant Bank now owns 743 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $356,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 2.1 %

NOC traded up $9.73 during trading on Friday, hitting $480.30. The company had a trading volume of 1,164,624 shares, compared to its average volume of 785,878. The company has a market capitalization of $71.08 billion, a PE ratio of 33.59, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.33. Northrop Grumman Co. has a one year low of $414.56 and a one year high of $496.89. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $441.47 and its 200 day moving average price is $455.46. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.36 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.93 by $0.43. The business had revenue of $10.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.02 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.61% and a return on equity of 25.44%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $5.34 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $467.00 to $509.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $475.00 to $505.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered shares of Northrop Grumman from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $477.00 target price for the company. in a report on Friday, June 21st. StockNews.com raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $530.00 to $500.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $515.07.

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.