Balboa Wealth Partners Has $249,000 Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Balboa Wealth Partners grew its holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 11.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 533 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners’ holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $249,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of NOC. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 960.0% in the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 53 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman in the third quarter worth $29,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Finally, McIlrath & Eck LLC boosted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 247.6% in the fourth quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 73 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of Northrop Grumman stock traded down $2.63 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $472.06. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 227,244 shares, compared to its average volume of 966,523. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12 month low of $414.56 and a 12 month high of $496.89. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $468.46 and a 200 day moving average of $465.13. The company has a market capitalization of $69.86 billion, a PE ratio of 33.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.83 by $0.49. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 24.09% and a net margin of 5.38%. The company had revenue of $10.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.77 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $5.50 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 24.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 28th will be issued a $2.06 dividend. This is an increase from Northrop Grumman’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.87. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 24th. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is 52.31%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on NOC shares. StockNews.com raised Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. TheStreet lowered Northrop Grumman from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Northrop Grumman from $475.00 to $505.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Northrop Grumman from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Alembic Global Advisors raised Northrop Grumman from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $532.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $514.33.

Northrop Grumman 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.