NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC Buys 852 Shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC

NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) by 20.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,117 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 852 shares during the quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $3,181,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 167.3% during the third quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 98,071 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $60,964,000 after purchasing an additional 61,376 shares during the last quarter. Rovin Capital UT ADV lifted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 23.9% during the third quarter. Rovin Capital UT ADV now owns 836 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $509,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Tred Avon Family Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter worth about $903,000. Stenger Family Office LLC increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 14.4% during the 3rd quarter. Stenger Family Office LLC now owns 4,727 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,817,000 after purchasing an additional 595 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Resonant Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $257,000. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on NOC shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Wednesday, December 24th. Citigroup upped their target price on Northrop Grumman from $654.00 to $715.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Truist Financial restated a “hold” rating and issued a $623.00 price objective (down from $688.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Friday, January 9th. BNP Paribas Exane assumed coverage on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Tuesday, November 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $710.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Alembic Global Advisors upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $662.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, December 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $656.82.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

NOC opened at $667.02 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $95.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.99, a PEG ratio of 5.41 and a beta of 0.05. The company has a fifty day moving average of $579.49 and a 200 day moving average of $579.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.11. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $426.24 and a fifty-two week high of $669.68.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 21st. The aerospace company reported $7.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.43 by $1.24. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 25.49% and a net margin of 9.82%.The firm had revenue of $10.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.68 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $7.00 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 1st were issued a $2.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 1st. This represents a $9.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.24%.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In related news, Director Mark A. Welsh III sold 97 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $564.08, for a total transaction of $54,715.76. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 4,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,414,826.48. This trade represents a 2.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $615.00, for a total value of $1,845,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 191,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $117,835,230. This represents a 1.54% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 10,097 shares of company stock valued at $6,099,716 in the last quarter. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Northrop Grumman

Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) is a leading U.S.-based aerospace and defense company that designs, builds and sustains advanced systems, products and technologies for government and commercial customers. Formed through the combination of Northrop and Grumman businesses in the 1990s, the company’s portfolio spans manned and unmanned aircraft, space systems, missile defense, radar and sensor systems, and integrated command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (C4ISR) solutions.

The company’s work includes airframe and platform manufacturing, space hardware and satellite systems, advanced mission systems and cybersecurity services, as well as logistics, sustainment and modernization programs.