TD Private Client Wealth LLC Has $466,000 Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

TD Private Client Wealth LLC lifted its position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 3.8% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 883 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the period. TD Private Client Wealth LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $466,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of NOC. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC increased its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 37.7% in the second quarter. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC now owns 4,184 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,824,000 after acquiring an additional 1,145 shares in the last quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 12.6% in the 2nd quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,048 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $457,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,804 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,530,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the period. Milestone Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,017,000. Finally, ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. raised its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 98,773 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $43,060,000 after buying an additional 2,508 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on NOC. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. UBS Group increased their target price on Northrop Grumman from $614.00 to $643.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Susquehanna boosted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $560.00 to $625.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $521.00 to $587.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Northrop Grumman from $565.00 to $505.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $553.27.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

NYSE:NOC opened at $480.00 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $506.77 and a 200 day simple moving average of $488.20. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1-year low of $418.60 and a 1-year high of $555.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $69.94 billion, a PE ratio of 29.74, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.33.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.07 by $0.93. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.79% and a return on equity of 26.57%. The company had revenue of $10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.18 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $6.18 EPS. Northrop Grumman’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a dividend of $2.06 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.72%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.05%.

Northrop Grumman announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the aerospace company to reacquire up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total transaction of $616,067.08. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $286,183.41. This trade represents a 68.28 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In the last three months, insiders sold 1,255 shares of company stock worth $666,461. 0.22% of the stock is 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.