Brucke Financial Inc. Makes New $463,000 Investment in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Brucke Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 951 shares of the aerospace company's stock, valued at approximately $463,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Bellwether Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter worth approximately $42,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 291.7% in the fourth 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 last quarter. Finally, VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter valued at $47,000. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company's stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of NYSE NOC traded up $4.97 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $484.36. The stock had a trading volume of 1,304,434 shares, compared to its average volume of 903,394. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $493.38 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $482.82. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52 week low of $418.60 and a 52 week high of $555.57. The company has a market capitalization of $69.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.09, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.01.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $9.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.07 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.24% and a net margin of 10.17%. Analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Stockholders 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 is Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $9.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.91%. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio is currently 36.46%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Northrop Grumman from $580.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $583.00 to $571.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $424.00 to $521.00 in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $545.31.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In other news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $475.65, for a total value of $1,783,687.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 212,852 shares in the company, valued at approximately $101,243,053.80. The trade was a 1.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 3,849 shares of company stock valued at $1,831,461. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company's stock.

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.