Graham Capital Wealth Management LLC Makes New Investment in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Graham Capital Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 11,481 shares of the aerospace company's stock, valued at approximately $5,495,000. Northrop Grumman makes up about 6.2% of Graham Capital Wealth Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 5th largest position.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wesbanco Bank Inc. grew its stake in Northrop Grumman by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 1,782 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $784,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the period. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. grew its stake in Northrop Grumman by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. now owns 524 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $245,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the period. Secure Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Northrop Grumman by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC now owns 844 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $395,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the period. Simon Quick Advisors LLC grew its stake in Northrop Grumman by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 604 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $266,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the period. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Northrop Grumman by 16.2% in the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 165 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $73,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on NOC shares. TheStreet cut shares of Northrop Grumman from a "b+" rating to a "c+" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $483.00 to $518.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $475.00 to $505.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Alembic Global Advisors upgraded Northrop Grumman from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $532.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, April 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $509.38.

Northrop Grumman Trading Down 2.4 %

Shares of NYSE NOC traded down $11.62 during trading on Thursday, hitting $474.75. 1,372,671 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,008,852. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12-month low of $414.56 and a 12-month high of $496.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.13. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $464.80 and a 200-day moving average price of $465.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.26 billion, a PE ratio of 33.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.34.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.83 by $0.49. The firm had revenue of $10.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.77 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.38% and a return on equity of 24.09%. Northrop Grumman's revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $5.50 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 24.7 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 26th were issued a $1.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 23rd. This represents a $7.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.58%. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 52.31%.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In related news, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 210 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $454.68, for a total value of $95,482.80. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,127 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,421,784.36. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 210 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $454.68, for a total value of $95,482.80. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,127 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,421,784.36. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 1,273 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.37, for a total value of $573,321.01. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,735 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,231,761.95. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 3,149 shares of company stock worth $1,421,147. Company insiders own 0.22% 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.

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