Paladin Wealth LLC Purchases New Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Paladin Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 320 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $169,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 9.6% in the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 458 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $214,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter worth approximately $771,000. Integrated Advisors Network LLC increased its stake in Northrop Grumman by 47.1% during the 4th quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 3,924 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,837,000 after purchasing an additional 1,256 shares in the last quarter. Syon Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 15.4% in the fourth quarter. Syon Capital LLC now owns 1,795 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $840,000 after buying an additional 240 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake 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 buying an additional 122,026 shares during the period. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of Northrop Grumman stock opened at $528.70 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.11. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $517.80 and its 200 day moving average price is $476.98. The company has a market cap of $78.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.97, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.34. Northrop Grumman Co. has a one year low of $418.60 and a one year high of $555.57.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.93 by $0.43. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.61% and a return on equity of 25.44%. The firm had revenue of $10.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.02 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $5.34 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.16 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were given a dividend of $2.06 per share. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is presently 57.62%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on NOC shares. UBS Group upped their target price on Northrop Grumman from $593.00 to $605.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Barclays upped their target price on Northrop Grumman from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective 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. TD Cowen raised Northrop Grumman to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $592.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $527.19.

Insider Activity

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 4,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,317,000. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,389 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $477.56, for a total value of $663,330.84. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 6,755 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,225,917.80. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, 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 transaction of $695,000.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 4,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,317,000. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 2,879 shares of company stock valued at $1,410,703. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Northrop Grumman 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.