Apella Capital LLC Takes Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Apella Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 486 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $262,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Ascent Group LLC raised its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 4,337 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,891,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 last quarter. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group raised its position in Northrop Grumman by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group now owns 1,467 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $640,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.1% in the second 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE NOC traded down $0.84 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $536.74. 393,951 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 891,192. The stock has a market cap of $79.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.53, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.99. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1-year low of $414.56 and a 1-year high of $555.57. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $513.44 and a 200 day simple moving average of $474.77.

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

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were paid a $2.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.54%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 57.62%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of the 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 4,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,317,000. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 4,634 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,317,000. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,389 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $477.56, for a total transaction of $663,330.84. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 6,755 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,225,917.80. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 2,846 shares of company stock valued at $1,393,028 in the last 90 days. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Alembic Global Advisors cut Northrop Grumman from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $560.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective 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. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $593.00 to $605.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. StockNews.com raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $474.00 to $575.00 in a research report on Monday, July 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $523.20.

Northrop Grumman Company 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.