Syon Capital LLC Buys 240 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Syon Capital LLC boosted its stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 15.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,795 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 240 shares during the quarter. Syon Capital LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $840,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. London Co. of Virginia bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 3rd quarter valued at about $165,786,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 74.7% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,174,556 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $517,028,000 after acquiring an additional 502,060 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. boosted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 19.7% during the 4th quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 16,515 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $7,731,000 after acquiring an additional 2,723 shares during the last quarter. Phraction Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 3rd quarter valued at about $677,000. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 2,801.7% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 330,499 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $154,720,000 after acquiring an additional 319,109 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Trading Down 1.6 %

Northrop Grumman stock traded down $7.61 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $480.45. The company had a trading volume of 1,276,024 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,005,706. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $462.00 and a 200 day moving average price of $465.71. The firm has a market cap of $71.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.35. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12-month low of $414.56 and a 12-month high of $496.89.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.32 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.83 by $0.49. The business had revenue of $10.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.77 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 23.07% and a net margin of 5.23%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $5.50 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 24.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 26th were given a $1.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 23rd. This represents a $7.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.56%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is currently 55.49%.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In other news, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 210 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $454.68, for a total value of $95,482.80. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,127 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,421,784.36. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 210 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $454.68, for a total value of $95,482.80. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,127 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,421,784.36. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 1,273 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.37, for a total value of $573,321.01. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 2,735 shares in the company, valued at $1,231,761.95. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 3,149 shares of company stock worth $1,421,147. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on NOC. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $475.00 to $505.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. Susquehanna raised their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Friday. StockNews.com cut Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Finally, TheStreet cut Northrop Grumman from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $503.00.

About Northrop Grumman

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.