Quotient Wealth Partners LLC Grows Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Quotient Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 43.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 990 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 302 shares during the period. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $432,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 960.0% during the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 53 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors raised its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 241.2% during the 2nd quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 58 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Frazier Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Shares of NOC stock traded down $0.29 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $509.34. 555,059 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 945,673. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52-week low of $414.56 and a 52-week high of $511.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The company has a market cap of $75.38 billion, a PE ratio of 35.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.32. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $460.85 and a 200 day moving average of $460.63.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.93 by $0.43. The company had revenue of $10.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.02 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 25.44% and a net margin of 5.61%. Northrop Grumman’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $5.34 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 3rd will be issued a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 3rd. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is presently 57.62%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on NOC. Susquehanna increased their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $474.00 to $575.00 in a report on Monday, July 29th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Finally, BTIG Research initiated 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $521.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $695,000.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 4,634 shares in the company, valued at $2,317,000. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,389 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $477.56, for a total value of $663,330.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 6,755 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,225,917.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $695,000.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 4,634 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,317,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.