Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Shares Purchased by Legacy Financial Advisors Inc.

Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 4.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 732 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $343,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 960.0% in the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 53 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the third quarter worth about $29,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 247.6% in the fourth quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 73 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Providence Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 400.0% in the third quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 210 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $454.68, for a total value of $95,482.80. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,127 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,421,784.36. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Northrop Grumman news, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 210 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $454.68, for a total value of $95,482.80. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,127 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,421,784.36. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 1,273 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The shares were 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 directly owns 2,735 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,231,761.95. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 3,149 shares of company stock valued at $1,421,147 in the last 90 days. 0.22% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

NYSE NOC traded down $5.91 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $469.09. 1,443,462 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,144,324. The stock has a market cap of $69.42 billion, a PE ratio of 32.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.34. Northrop Grumman Co. has a one year low of $414.56 and a one year high of $496.89. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $464.96 and a 200-day moving average of $465.81. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.32 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.83 by $0.49. The firm had revenue of $10.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.77 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 24.09% and a net margin of 5.38%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $5.50 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 24.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 26th were paid a $1.87 dividend. This represents a $7.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 23rd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 52.31%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on NOC. Alembic Global Advisors upgraded Northrop Grumman from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $532.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Northrop Grumman from $483.00 to $518.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. TheStreet downgraded Northrop Grumman from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Susquehanna lifted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $509.38.

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.