CRA Financial Services LLC Invests $201,000 in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

CRA Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOCFree Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 462 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $201,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 1,402.9% in the first quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd now owns 12,925 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $6,186,000 after purchasing an additional 12,065 shares during the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the first quarter valued at $870,000. Norden Group LLC purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the first quarter valued at $778,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 7,574.5% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 123,637 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $57,879,000 after purchasing an additional 122,026 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Red Mountain Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter valued at $264,000. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 4,634 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,317,000. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,389 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $477.56, for a total value of $663,330.84. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 6,755 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,225,917.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, 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. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Alembic Global Advisors raised Northrop Grumman from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $532.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded Northrop Grumman from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $477.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Northrop Grumman from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $592.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $521.33.

View Our Latest Stock Analysis on Northrop Grumman

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 0.6 %

NOC stock traded up $3.02 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $494.34. The company had a trading volume of 519,172 shares, compared to its average volume of 968,294. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.11. Northrop Grumman Co. has a fifty-two week low of $414.56 and a fifty-two week high of $506.83. The company has a market capitalization of $73.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.32. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $446.99 and a 200 day simple moving average of $456.53.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOCGet Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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. 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 analyst estimates of $10.02 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $5.34 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 28th were paid a dividend of $2.06 per share. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.67%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 24th. This is an increase from Northrop Grumman’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.87. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 57.62%.

Northrop Grumman Profile

(Free Report)

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.

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Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC)

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