Paragon Capital Management Ltd Acquires New Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Paragon Capital Management Ltd bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 858 shares of the aerospace company's stock, valued at approximately $439,000.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in NOC. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Bellwether Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 291.7% in the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 94 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In other news, VP Roshan S. Roeder sold 991 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $490.00, for a total transaction of $485,590.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 319 shares in the company, valued at $156,310. The trade was a 75.65% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 7,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $505.77, for a total transaction of $3,793,275.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 201,602 shares of the company's stock, valued at $101,964,243.54. This trade represents a 3.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 12,340 shares of company stock valued at $6,183,378 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NOC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $575.00 to $550.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Northrop Grumman from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Susquehanna cut their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $557.00 to $540.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Argus upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $424.00 to $521.00 in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $545.31.

Northrop Grumman Stock Down 3.8%

Shares of NYSE:NOC traded down $19.83 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $496.89. 1,160,238 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 886,347. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.91. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12 month low of $422.19 and a 12 month high of $555.57. The company has a market cap of $71.52 billion, a PE ratio of 17.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.14. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $490.98 and a 200-day moving average price of $482.53.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The aerospace company reported $6.06 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $6.33 by ($0.27). The company had revenue of $9.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.07 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.24% and a net margin of 10.17%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be paid a $2.31 dividend. This is a positive change from Northrop Grumman's previous quarterly dividend of $2.06. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $9.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.86%. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio is presently 36.46%.

Northrop Grumman 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.