Tyche Wealth Partners LLC Takes Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Tyche Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 658 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $308,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. London Co. of Virginia bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the third quarter valued at about $165,786,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 74.7% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,174,556 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $517,028,000 after purchasing an additional 502,060 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. raised its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 19.7% during the fourth quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 16,515 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $7,731,000 after purchasing an additional 2,723 shares in the last quarter. Phraction Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the third quarter valued at about $677,000. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 2,801.7% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 330,499 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $154,720,000 after purchasing an additional 319,109 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NOC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Susquehanna cut their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $560.00 to $540.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $450.00 price target (down from $515.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $505.00 to $475.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 26th. StockNews.com cut shares of Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Finally, TheStreet cut shares of Northrop Grumman from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $494.33.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In related news, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 711 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $453.22, for a total value of $322,239.42. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 2,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $917,317.28. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 1,273 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.37, for a total value of $573,321.01. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 2,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,231,761.95. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 711 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $453.22, for a total value of $322,239.42. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $917,317.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 3,149 shares of company stock valued at $1,421,147. 0.22% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE:NOC opened at $451.82 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 1.05. Northrop Grumman Co. has a fifty-two week low of $414.56 and a fifty-two week high of $496.89. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $459.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $464.20. The stock has a market cap of $66.96 billion, a PE ratio of 33.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.35.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.80 by $0.47. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 23.07% and a net margin of 5.23%. The company had revenue of $10.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.43 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $7.50 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 24.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 26th were paid a dividend of $1.87 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 23rd. This represents a $7.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.66%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.49%.

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.