Fidelis Capital Partners LLC Raises Stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Fidelis Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 84.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,904 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 874 shares during the period. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $891,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Toth Financial Advisory Corp grew its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 19.1% during the 3rd quarter. Toth Financial Advisory Corp now owns 131 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the period. Wesbanco Bank Inc. increased its position in Northrop Grumman by 1.2% in the third quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 1,782 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $784,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the period. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 4.4% during 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 during the period. Secure Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 22 shares during the period. Finally, IHT Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,371 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $613,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 0.9 %

NOC stock traded up $3.98 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $456.48. The company had a trading volume of 97,471 shares, compared to its average volume of 976,259. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The company has a market capitalization of $67.65 billion, a PE ratio of 33.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 0.35. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $459.56 and a 200 day moving average of $464.12. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12 month low of $414.56 and a 12 month high of $496.89.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.80 by $0.47. The business had revenue of $10.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.43 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.23% and a return on equity of 23.07%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $7.50 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 24.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 26th were given a dividend of $1.87 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 23rd. This represents a $7.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.64%. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is presently 55.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 210 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $454.68, for a total transaction of $95,482.80. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,127 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,421,784.36. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 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 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,421,784.36. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 711 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $453.22, for a total transaction of $322,239.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $917,317.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 3,149 shares of company stock worth $1,421,147. 0.22% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. TheStreet downgraded Northrop Grumman from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $505.00 to $475.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $450.00 target price (down from $515.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Susquehanna dropped their target price on Northrop Grumman from $560.00 to $540.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $494.33.

About Northrop Grumman

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.