Darden Wealth Group Inc Takes $227,000 Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Darden Wealth Group Inc bought a new position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 430 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $227,000.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Freestone Capital Holdings LLC grew its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 9.7% during the 1st quarter. Freestone Capital Holdings LLC now owns 835 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $400,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the period. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 41.7% in the first quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 635 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $304,000 after buying an additional 187 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 63.7% during the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 138,990 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $66,529,000 after buying an additional 54,059 shares in the last quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 24,185 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $11,576,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LRI Investments LLC bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the 1st quarter worth approximately $390,000. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In other news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total transaction of $616,067.08. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $286,183.41. This trade represents a 68.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders sold 1,289 shares of company stock worth $685,273 in the last 90 days. 0.22% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on NOC. TD Cowen raised shares of Northrop Grumman to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $521.00 to $587.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $474.00 to $575.00 in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $592.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Susquehanna increased their target price on Northrop Grumman from $560.00 to $625.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $550.56.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Northrop Grumman stock opened at $496.41 on Friday. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1-year low of $418.60 and a 1-year high of $555.57. The company’s 50-day moving average is $521.05 and its 200 day moving average is $486.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.97.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.07 by $0.93. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.57% and a net margin of 5.79%. The firm had revenue of $10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.18 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $6.18 EPS. Northrop Grumman’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.93 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.66%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.05%.

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.