Malaga Cove Capital LLC Takes Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Malaga Cove Capital LLC acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 461 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $243,000.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Optimum Investment Advisors raised its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 241.2% during the second quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 58 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Northrop Grumman by 245.5% during the 2nd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 76 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 3rd quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 281.5% in the 1st quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 103 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

NYSE:NOC opened at $520.58 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $523.63 and a 200 day moving average price of $484.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $75.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.35. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12-month low of $418.60 and a 12-month high of $555.57. 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 (NYSE:NOC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 period last year, the firm posted $6.18 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were paid a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is currently 51.05%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on NOC. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded 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 research report on Monday, July 29th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $521.00 to $587.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $614.00 to $643.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $550.56.

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.