Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Shares Bought by Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC

Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 2.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,205 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 77 shares during the quarter. Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $1,724,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Optimum Investment Advisors grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 241.2% in the second quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 58 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman in the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Northrop Grumman by 245.5% in the 2nd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 76 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the first quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Riverview Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the first quarter worth about $47,000. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Barclays increased their target price on Northrop Grumman from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. UBS Group upped their price target 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. Finally, BTIG Research assumed coverage on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. They set a “buy” rating and a $565.00 price objective for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $527.19.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,389 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The shares were 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 directly owns 6,755 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,225,917.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed 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 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 approximately $3,225,917.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 4,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,317,000. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 2,879 shares of company stock worth $1,410,703 in the last ninety days. 0.22% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

NOC stock traded up $1.53 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $528.62. The company had a trading volume of 50,659 shares, compared to its average volume of 877,256. The firm has a market capitalization of $77.31 billion, a PE ratio of 34.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.34. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $517.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $476.52. Northrop Grumman Co. has a fifty-two week low of $418.60 and a fifty-two week high of $555.57. 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 (NYSE:NOC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.02 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $5.34 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were issued a $2.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.56%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 53.79%.

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.