Merit Financial Group LLC Raises Stock Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Merit Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 90.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,663 shares of the aerospace company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,167 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC's holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $3,412,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Bellwether Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $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 currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In other news, VP Roshan S. Roeder sold 991 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $490.00, for a total value of $485,590.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 319 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $156,310. This trade represents a 75.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders have sold a total of 1,057 shares of company stock worth $517,733 in the last quarter. 0.23% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of NOC traded up $1.43 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $489.55. The company had a trading volume of 372,436 shares, compared to its average volume of 891,961. The stock has a market cap of $70.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.14. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $491.04 and a 200-day simple moving average of $482.29. Northrop Grumman Co. has a fifty-two week low of $418.60 and a fifty-two week high of $555.57. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last announced 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). The company had revenue of $9.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.07 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 26.24%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 dividend yield of 1.89%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. This is a positive change from Northrop Grumman's previous quarterly dividend of $2.06. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.46%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on NOC. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $583.00 to $571.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Northrop Grumman from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Susquehanna decreased their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $557.00 to $540.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $580.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of 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 analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $545.31.

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.