Fountainhead AM LLC Buys Shares of 496 Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC)

Fountainhead AM LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 496 shares of the aerospace company's stock, valued at approximately $254,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. 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 in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Hollencrest Capital Management lifted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 790.0% in the 1st quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 89 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the 1st quarter worth approximately $46,000. Finally, Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter worth approximately $47,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on NOC. Wall Street Zen lowered Northrop Grumman from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $575.00 to $550.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report 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. Susquehanna lowered their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $557.00 to $540.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a "hold" rating and set a $542.00 price objective (down from $580.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $550.00.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Northrop Grumman stock opened at $518.83 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.95. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 52 week low of $426.24 and a 52 week high of $555.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $74.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.16 and a beta of 0.15. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $492.64 and a 200-day moving average of $487.41.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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). The firm had revenue of $9.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.07 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 25.46% and a net margin of 9.19%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd were given a $2.31 dividend. This represents a $9.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.78%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 2nd. This is a positive change from Northrop Grumman's previous quarterly dividend of $2.06. Northrop Grumman's payout ratio is 36.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Northrop Grumman news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 7,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $505.77, for a total value of $3,793,275.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 201,602 shares in the company, valued at approximately $101,964,243.54. The trade was a 3.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 729 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $505.77, for a total value of $368,706.33. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 7,552 shares in the company, valued at $3,819,575.04. This trade represents a 8.80% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 16,569 shares of company stock worth $8,323,150. Corporate 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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