Aptus Capital Advisors LLC Boosts Stake in Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC

Key Points

• Aptus Capital Advisors LLC significantly increased its stake in Northrop Grumman by 1,579.2%, acquiring an additional 40,460 shares, bringing its total holdings to 43,022 shares valued at approximately $22 million.
• Northrop Grumman has recently been rated as a "Moderate Buy" by analysts, with a consensus target price of $586.79, amid a mixture of upgrades and downgrades from various equity research analysts.
• The company also announced a dividend increase to $2.31 per share, up from $2.06, representing an annualized dividend of $9.24 and a yield of 1.6%.

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 1,579.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 43,022 shares of the aerospace company's stock after acquiring an additional 40,460 shares during the period. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $22,028,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of NOC. IMA Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in Northrop Grumman during the first quarter valued at $27,000. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Bellwether Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Hollencrest Capital Management lifted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 790.0% during the 1st quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 89 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on NOC shares. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $583.00 to $571.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Monday, July 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $480.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Northrop Grumman from $547.00 to $565.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Northrop Grumman from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $586.79.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In other news, VP Roshan S. Roeder sold 991 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $490.00, for a total value of $485,590.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 319 shares in the company, valued at $156,310. This represents a 75.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 7,500 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 $3,793,275.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 201,602 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $101,964,243.54. This trade represents a 3.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 16,536 shares of company stock valued at $8,306,857 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.23% of the company's stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:NOC opened at $584.02 on Monday. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 52 week low of $426.24 and a 52 week high of $594.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $532.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $501.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $83.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.53, a PEG ratio of 5.59 and a beta of 0.15.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The aerospace company reported $7.11 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.84 by $0.27. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 9.74% and a return on equity of 25.52%. The business had revenue of $10.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.15 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $6.36 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd were issued a $2.31 dividend. This is an increase from Northrop Grumman's previous quarterly dividend of $2.06. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $9.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Northrop Grumman's payout ratio is currently 34.06%.

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.

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