Mattson Financial Services LLC Takes $909,000 Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Mattson Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 1,937 shares of the aerospace company's stock, valued at approximately $909,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Bellwether Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 291.7% in the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 94 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on NOC. Susquehanna lowered their price target 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. Wolfe Research raised Northrop Grumman from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group decreased their target price on Northrop Grumman from $583.00 to $571.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company set a $525.00 target price on Northrop Grumman and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price 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. Nine research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $545.31.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of NOC traded up $4.97 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $484.36. The stock had a trading volume of 1,304,434 shares, compared to its average volume of 895,507. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52 week low of $418.60 and a 52 week high of $555.57. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $493.38 and a 200 day moving average of $482.43. The company has a market cap 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.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The aerospace company reported $6.06 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $9.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.07 billion. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Northrop Grumman news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.65, for a total transaction of $1,783,687.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 212,852 shares in the company, valued at approximately $101,243,053.80. This represents a 1.73% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 3,849 shares of company stock worth $1,831,461. 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.