Certified Advisory Corp Increases Stock Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Certified Advisory Corp increased its position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 19.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 931 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the quarter. Certified Advisory Corp’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $406,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Accretive Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 10.5% during the 4th quarter. Accretive Wealth Partners LLC now owns 528 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $247,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC boosted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 21.9% during the 4th quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 557 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $241,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 20,185 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $9,449,000 after acquiring an additional 230 shares during the last quarter. 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter valued at $882,000. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 64.9% during the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 9,538 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $4,465,000 after acquiring an additional 3,753 shares during the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on NOC. Barclays increased 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 note on Tuesday, July 30th. Alembic Global Advisors downgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $560.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $592.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $440.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $467.00 to $509.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $523.20.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 1.5 %

NOC stock opened at $533.20 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. Northrop Grumman Co. has a fifty-two week low of $414.56 and a fifty-two week high of $534.61. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $498.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $470.38. The stock has a market cap of $78.91 billion, a PE ratio of 37.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.34.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.36 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.93 by $0.43. The firm had revenue of $10.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.02 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.61% and a return on equity of 25.44%. Northrop Grumman’s quarterly revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $5.34 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.14 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were paid a dividend of $2.06 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.55%. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is 57.62%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $2,317,000. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,389 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $477.56, for a total value of $663,330.84. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 6,755 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,225,917.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $695,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 4,634 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,317,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 2,846 shares of company stock valued at $1,393,028. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

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.