Vestor Capital LLC Purchases 3,591 Shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC

Key Points

• Vestor Capital increased its Northrop Grumman stake by 172.2% in the third quarter, buying 3,591 shares to bring its holding to 5,676 shares, valued at about $2.74 million.
• Northrop Grumman beat quarterly earnings-per-share estimates, reporting $7.89 versus $7.18 expected; revenue rose 6.7% year over year to $11.12 billion, slightly below forecasts.
• Analysts’ consensus rating is Moderate Buy, with an average price target of $643.74. The company’s quarterly dividend equates to $9.88 annually, a 1.8% yield.

Vestor Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 172.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,676 shares of the aerospace company's stock after buying an additional 3,591 shares during the period. Vestor Capital LLC's holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $2,744,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Putney Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 4.2% in the third quarter. Putney Financial Group LLC now owns 448 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $217,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Glenview Trust Co increased its stake in Northrop Grumman by 1.1% during the first quarter. Glenview Trust Co now owns 1,796 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,225,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Quadrant Private Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Northrop Grumman by 5.4% during the first quarter. Quadrant Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 392 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $268,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Victrix Investment Advisors raised its position in Northrop Grumman by 0.8% in the second quarter. Victrix Investment Advisors now owns 2,469 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,257,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Finally, Goepper Burkhardt LLC raised its position in Northrop Grumman by 4.1% in the first quarter. Goepper Burkhardt LLC now owns 537 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $366,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company's stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 2.8%

NYSE:NOC opened at $539.48 on Tuesday. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 52 week low of $470.06 and a 52 week high of $774.00. The stock's fifty day moving average is $519.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $588.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $76.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of -0.13. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77.

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

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 31st were given a $2.47 dividend. This represents a $9.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 31st. Northrop Grumman's payout ratio is currently 31.17%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NOC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. BNP Paribas Exane upped their price target on Northrop Grumman from $540.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $615.00 price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $694.00 to $698.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 21st. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $419.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $617.00 to $667.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $643.74.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Northrop Grumman news, Director Mark Welsh, III sold 98 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 4,314 shares in the company, valued at $2,397,074.10. This represents a 2.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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 corporate insiders.

About Northrop Grumman

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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