Brighton Jones LLC Grows Stock Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 2.9% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,071 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 30 shares during the quarter. Brighton Jones LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $467,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Optimum Investment Advisors boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 241.2% during the 2nd quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 58 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman during the second quarter valued at $28,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Northrop Grumman by 245.5% during the second quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 76 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the first quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Riverview Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the first quarter worth about $47,000. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:NOC opened at $525.13 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $496.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $469.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $77.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.72, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.34. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52 week low of $414.56 and a 52 week high of $528.76.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $5.93 by $0.43. The company had revenue of $10.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.02 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 25.44% and a net margin of 5.61%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $5.34 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.14 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, September 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were given a $2.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.57%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is presently 57.62%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 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 value of $695,000.00. Following the sale, 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 at this hyperlink. In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,389 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 6,755 shares in the company, valued at $3,225,917.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, 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 value of $695,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 4,634 shares in the company, valued at $2,317,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 2,846 shares of company stock valued at $1,393,028 over the last three months. 0.22% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on NOC. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $467.00 to $509.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Alembic Global Advisors downgraded Northrop Grumman from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $560.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $592.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. BTIG Research started coverage on Northrop Grumman in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $565.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $474.00 to $575.00 in a report on Monday, July 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $523.20.

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.