Oxler Private Wealth LLC Buys 4,167 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Oxler Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 145.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,032 shares of the aerospace company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,167 shares during the quarter. Northrop Grumman comprises approximately 1.3% of Oxler Private Wealth LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest position. Oxler Private Wealth LLC's holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $3,366,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wesbanco Bank Inc. boosted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.2% in the third 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. raised its stake in Northrop Grumman by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. now owns 524 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $245,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Northrop Grumman by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC now owns 844 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $395,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Northrop Grumman by 16.2% in the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 165 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $73,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tilia Fiduciary Partners Inc. raised its stake in Northrop Grumman by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Tilia Fiduciary Partners Inc. now owns 727 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $340,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on NOC. StockNews.com raised Northrop Grumman from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Susquehanna boosted their target price on Northrop Grumman from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Northrop Grumman from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Northrop Grumman from $475.00 to $505.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Alembic Global Advisors raised Northrop Grumman from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $532.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $514.33.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 210 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $454.68, for a total transaction of $95,482.80. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,127 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,421,784.36. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of Northrop Grumman stock traded up $2.97 on Tuesday, hitting $471.91. The stock had a trading volume of 579,622 shares, compared to its average volume of 978,279. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $468.13 and a 200 day moving average of $465.06. Northrop Grumman Co. has a twelve month low of $414.56 and a twelve month high of $496.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $69.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.00, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.13.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.32 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.83 by $0.49. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 24.09% and a net margin of 5.38%. The business had revenue of $10.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.77 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $5.50 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 24.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 28th will be issued a $2.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 24th. This is a boost from Northrop Grumman's previous quarterly dividend of $1.87. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.75%. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio is presently 52.31%.

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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