3Chopt Investment Partners LLC Buys Shares of 1,799 Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC)

3Chopt Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 1,799 shares of the aerospace company's stock, valued at approximately $921,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Bellwether Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 291.7% during the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 94 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the period. Finally, HWG Holdings LP bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 1st quarter worth about $46,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on NOC. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $583.00 to $571.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company set a $525.00 price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $580.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $424.00 to $521.00 in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Northrop Grumman from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $552.54.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of Northrop Grumman stock opened at $494.45 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $484.86 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $483.37. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 1-year low of $422.69 and a 1-year high of $555.57. The company has a market cap of $71.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.51, a PEG ratio of 5.39 and a beta of 0.14.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The aerospace company reported $6.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $6.33 by ($0.27). Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 25.46% and a net margin of 9.19%. The business had revenue of $9.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.07 billion. As a group, analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd were issued a dividend of $2.31 per share. This is an increase from Northrop Grumman's previous quarterly dividend of $2.06. This represents a $9.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 2nd. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.46%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Northrop Grumman news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $495.00, for a total transaction of $1,856,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 209,102 shares in the company, valued at approximately $103,505,490. This trade represents a 1.76% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Robert J. Fleming sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $505.77, for a total transaction of $1,770,195.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,827 shares in the company, valued at $924,041.79. This trade represents a 65.70% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 16,569 shares of company stock worth $8,322,279. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company's stock.

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.

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