Hohimer Wealth Management LLC Makes New $3.29 Million Investment in Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC

Key Points

• Hohimer Wealth Management opened a Northrop Grumman position in the third quarter, buying 6,802 shares valued at approximately $3.29 million. Institutional investors collectively own 83.4% of the stock.
• Analyst opinion is broadly positive: the stock has a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $643.74, though ratings range from buy to sell.
• Northrop Grumman beat quarterly earnings expectations with EPS of $7.89 versus $7.18 forecast; revenue rose 6.7% year over year to $11.12 billion, slightly below estimates.

Hohimer Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 6,802 shares of the aerospace company's stock, valued at approximately $3,289,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 84.2% during the 3rd quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. now owns 512 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $248,000 after buying an additional 234 shares in the last quarter. M Holdings Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $757,000. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 29.0% in the 3rd quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,809 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,842,000 after acquiring an additional 856 shares in the last quarter. Cullinan Associates Inc. increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Cullinan Associates Inc. now owns 4,204 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $2,033,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Uhlmann Price Securities LLC raised its stake in Northrop Grumman by 56.6% during the 3rd quarter. Uhlmann Price Securities LLC now owns 2,697 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,353,000 after acquiring an additional 975 shares during the period. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NOC has been the topic of several analyst reports. Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $612.00 to $640.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 21st. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "hold" rating and issued a $585.00 price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Sunday, October 25th. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $590.00 to $540.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 9th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $419.00 to $430.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $550.00 to $675.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 21st. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $643.74.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Mark Welsh, III sold 98 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $555.65, for a total transaction of $54,453.70. Following the sale, the director owned 4,314 shares in the company, valued at $2,397,074.10. This trade represents a 2.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

NYSE:NOC opened at $525.71 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 12-month low of $470.06 and a 12-month high of $774.00. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $519.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $588.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $74.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of -0.13.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 20th. The aerospace company reported $7.89 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $7.18 by $0.71. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 23.46% and a net margin of 10.37%. The company had revenue of $11.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.14 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $7.67 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 29.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 31st were given a dividend of $2.47 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 31st. This represents a $9.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.17%.

Northrop Grumman Company Profile

Northrop Grumman Corporation is a U.S.-based aerospace and defense company that develops and produces systems for government and commercial customers. Its business spans aeronautics, defense, mission technologies and space, including military aircraft, autonomous systems, missile and air-defense capabilities, sensors, communications and satellites.

The company is the prime contractor for the B-21 Raider and is developing the Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile system. It also supplies technologies and components for other defense programs, as well as launch vehicles, propulsion systems and spacecraft.

Northrop Grumman traces its roots to Northrop Aircraft, founded in 1939, and Grumman, founded in 1930; the two companies combined in 1994.

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