Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Shares Purchased by Blue Fin Capital Inc.

Blue Fin Capital Inc. boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 1.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,649 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 81 shares during the period. Blue Fin Capital Inc.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $2,176,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 732 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $343,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Sapient Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,152,000. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 10.4% in the 4th quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,830 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,729,000 after purchasing an additional 548 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp raised its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 21,535 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $10,081,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the period. Finally, Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 95.7% in the 4th quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 2,164 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,013,000 after purchasing an additional 1,058 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

NYSE:NOC traded down $5.91 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $469.09. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,443,462 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,144,324. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The company has a market capitalization of $69.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.34. Northrop Grumman Co. has a fifty-two week low of $414.56 and a fifty-two week high of $496.89. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $464.96 and a 200-day moving average of $465.81.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its quarterly 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. The business had revenue of $10.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $5.50 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 24.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 26th were issued a dividend of $1.87 per share. This represents a $7.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.59%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 23rd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is currently 52.31%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $475.00 to $505.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Alembic Global Advisors upgraded 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. TheStreet downgraded Northrop Grumman from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. 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 report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $509.38.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 955 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.37, for a total value of $430,103.35. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,137 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,863,180.69. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Northrop Grumman news, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 955 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.37, for a total value of $430,103.35. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,137 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,863,180.69. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,127 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,421,784.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 3,149 shares of company stock worth $1,421,147. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.