1,219 Shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC Bought by Syntax Research Inc.

Syntax Research Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 1,219 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $589,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Perkins Coie Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Navigoe LLC bought a new position in Northrop Grumman during the second quarter worth $30,000. Plato Investment Management Ltd bought a new position in Northrop Grumman during the second quarter worth $30,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman in the third quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Compass Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman in the third quarter worth $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In related news, Director Mark Welsh, III sold 98 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $555.65, for a total value of $54,453.70. Following the sale, the director owned 4,314 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,397,074.10. This trade represents a 2.22% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on NOC. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $419.00 to $430.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Rothschild & Co Redburn began coverage on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $680.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $600.00 to $605.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $533.00 to $538.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $550.00 to $675.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 21st. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $643.74.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 2.8%

NYSE:NOC opened at $539.48 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $76.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of -0.13. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $519.23 and a 200 day simple moving average of $588.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.14. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 12-month low of $470.06 and a 12-month high of $774.00.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 20th. The aerospace company reported $7.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.18 by $0.71. The firm had revenue of $11.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.14 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 23.46% and a net margin of 10.37%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $7.67 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 29.68 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 31st were given a dividend of $2.47 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 31st. This represents a $9.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.17%.

About Northrop Grumman

Northrop Grumman Corporation is a U.S.-based aerospace and defense company that develops and produces systems for government and commercial customers. Its business spans aeronautics, defense, mission technologies and space, including military aircraft, autonomous systems, missile and air-defense capabilities, sensors, communications and satellites.

The company is the prime contractor for the B-21 Raider and is developing the Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile system. It also supplies technologies and components for other defense programs, as well as launch vehicles, propulsion systems and spacecraft.

Northrop Grumman traces its roots to Northrop Aircraft, founded in 1939, and Grumman, founded in 1930; the two companies combined in 1994.