119 Shares in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Purchased by Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc.

Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 119 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $52,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in NOC. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 960.0% during the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 53 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC lifted its position in Northrop Grumman by 247.6% in the 4th quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 73 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman during the 1st quarter valued at about $38,000. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 0.9 %

NOC stock traded up $4.47 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $491.00. 196,339 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 970,233. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52-week low of $414.56 and a 52-week high of $506.83. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $444.36 and its 200-day moving average is $455.86. The company has a market cap of $72.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its quarterly 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. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.61% and a return on equity of 25.44%. The business had revenue of $10.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.02 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $5.34 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 28th were given a dividend of $2.06 per share. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.68%. This is a positive change from Northrop Grumman’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.87. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 24th. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is presently 57.62%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NOC has been the topic of several analyst reports. BTIG Research initiated coverage on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $565.00 price target on the stock. Susquehanna raised their target price on Northrop Grumman from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Alembic Global Advisors upgraded Northrop Grumman from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $532.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. UBS Group raised their price target on Northrop Grumman from $593.00 to $605.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $474.00 to $575.00 in a report on Monday, July 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $516.29.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

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.