Paragon Capital Management Ltd Invests $439,000 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 & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 858 shares of the aerospace company's stock, valued at approximately $439,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in NOC. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Bellwether Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 291.7% during the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 94 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In related news, VP Roshan S. Roeder sold 991 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $490.00, for a total transaction of $485,590.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 319 shares of the company's stock, valued at $156,310. The trade was a 75.65% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 7,500 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 201,602 shares in the company, 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. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 12,340 shares of company stock worth $6,183,378. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Argus upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $575.00 to $550.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $580.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Susquehanna lowered their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $557.00 to $540.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $545.31.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 4.0%

Shares of NYSE:NOC traded up $20.09 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $517.22. 1,842,813 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 886,029. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.01. The company has a market cap of $74.44 billion, a PE ratio of 18.25, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.14. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $490.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $482.42. Northrop Grumman Co. has a twelve month low of $418.60 and a twelve month high of $555.57.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The aerospace company reported $6.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $6.33 by ($0.27). The business had revenue of $9.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.07 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 26.24%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd will be issued a dividend of $2.31 per share. 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 1.79%. Northrop Grumman's payout ratio is presently 36.46%.

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.