866 Shares in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Acquired by GAMMA Investing LLC

GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 866 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $387,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the third quarter valued at $29,000. Providence Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 400.0% in the third quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the third quarter valued at $70,000. Rational Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the third quarter valued at $72,000. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NOC has been the topic of several research reports. TheStreet cut Northrop Grumman from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Alembic Global Advisors upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $532.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $450.00 price objective (down from $515.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Friday, January 26th. StockNews.com cut shares of Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Finally, Susquehanna lowered their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $560.00 to $540.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $497.23.

Northrop Grumman Trading Down 0.0 %

Northrop Grumman stock opened at $474.57 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $70.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.35. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12 month low of $414.56 and a 12 month high of $496.89. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $461.24 and its 200-day simple moving average is $465.55. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 firm 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%. Northrop Grumman’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $7.50 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 24.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The firm 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. This represents a $7.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.58%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 23rd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is presently 55.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Northrop Grumman news, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 210 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,127 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,421,784.36. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 711 shares of the business’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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 210 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,421,784.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 3,149 shares of company stock worth $1,421,147. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

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.