Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC Takes Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 550 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $257,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of NOC. MainStreet Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter valued at about $428,000. ING Groep NV increased its position in Northrop Grumman by 8.7% during the fourth quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 19,405 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $9,084,000 after buying an additional 1,550 shares during the last quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems increased its position in Northrop Grumman by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems now owns 11,341 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $5,309,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. increased its position in Northrop Grumman by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 14,696 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $6,880,000 after buying an additional 181 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Independent Advisor Alliance increased its position in Northrop Grumman by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 6,017 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,817,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NOC has been the topic of several research reports. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Northrop Grumman from $475.00 to $505.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Susquehanna boosted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $483.00 to $518.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. Royal Bank of Canada upped 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. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $514.33.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 0.3 %

NYSE NOC traded up $1.27 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $466.43. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 420,855 shares, compared to its average volume of 859,820. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52 week low of $414.56 and a 52 week high of $496.89. The company has a market capitalization of $69.03 billion, a PE ratio of 32.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.34. 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’s 50-day simple moving average is $468.68 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $465.11.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.32 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.83 by $0.49. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.38% and a return on equity of 24.09%. The firm had revenue of $10.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.77 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $5.50 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 24.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 28th will be issued a dividend of $2.06 per share. This is an increase from Northrop Grumman’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.87. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.77%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 24th. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is currently 52.31%.

Northrop Grumman 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.