Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC Buys Shares of 140 Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 140 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $61,000.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Bogart Wealth LLC boosted its position in Northrop Grumman by 14.1% during the 1st quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 170 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $81,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the period. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 4.6% in the second quarter. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 500 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $218,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the period. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 965 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $462,000 after buying an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Northrop Grumman by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,068 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $902,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the period. Finally, Renasant Bank raised its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. Renasant Bank now owns 743 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $356,000 after buying an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of NOC opened at $519.78 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $76.01 billion, a PE ratio of 36.35, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.11. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $486.71 and its 200 day moving average price is $467.61. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52 week low of $414.56 and a 52 week high of $528.76.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.93 by $0.43. The business had revenue of $10.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.02 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.61% and a return on equity of 25.44%. Northrop Grumman’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $5.34 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd will be issued a dividend of $2.06 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.59%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is 57.62%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Northrop Grumman from $467.00 to $509.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Alembic Global Advisors lowered Northrop Grumman from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $560.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $530.00 to $500.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $523.20.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In related news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $695,000.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 4,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,317,000. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $695,000.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 4,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,317,000. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,389 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $477.56, for a total value of $663,330.84. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 6,755 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,225,917.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 2,846 shares of company stock valued at $1,393,028. 0.22% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.