Lighthouse Financial LLC Invests $939,000 in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Lighthouse Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 2,000 shares of the aerospace company's stock, valued at approximately $939,000. Northrop Grumman accounts for approximately 0.8% of Lighthouse Financial LLC's holdings, making the stock its 24th biggest holding.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Bellwether Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 291.7% in 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. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on NOC shares. UBS Group cut their target price on Northrop Grumman from $583.00 to $571.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on Northrop Grumman from $575.00 to $550.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Susquehanna cut their target price on Northrop Grumman from $557.00 to $540.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wolfe Research upgraded Northrop Grumman from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Northrop Grumman from $580.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $545.31.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.65, for a total value of $1,783,687.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 212,852 shares of the company's stock, valued at $101,243,053.80. This represents a 1.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 3,849 shares of company stock valued at $1,831,461 in the last ninety days. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

NOC traded up $4.97 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $484.36. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,304,434 shares, compared to its average volume of 903,394. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52 week low of $418.60 and a 52 week high of $555.57. The company's 50-day moving average is $493.38 and its 200-day moving average is $482.82. 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 firm has a market cap of $69.71 billion, a PE ratio of 17.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.15.

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

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be issued a $2.31 dividend. This represents a $9.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.91%. This is a positive change from Northrop Grumman's previous quarterly dividend of $2.06. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio is currently 36.46%.

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.