Bahl & Gaynor Inc. Has $64.35 Million Stock Holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. decreased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 11.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 147,612 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 19,670 shares during the quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. owned about 0.10% of Northrop Grumman worth $64,352,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of NOC. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter valued at $605,000. Accretive Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 10.5% in the fourth quarter. Accretive Wealth Partners LLC now owns 528 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $247,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 21.9% during the fourth quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 557 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $241,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter valued at about $640,000. Finally, Jump Financial LLC grew its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 37.7% in the 4th quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 694 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $325,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of the company’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 value of $695,000.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 4,634 shares in the company, valued at $2,317,000. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, 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 transaction of $663,330.84. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 6,755 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,225,917.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $695,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 4,634 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,317,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 2,846 shares of company stock worth $1,393,028. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on NOC shares. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $440.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $530.00 to $500.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut Northrop Grumman from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $477.00 target price for the company. in a report on Friday, June 21st. Finally, Alembic Global Advisors downgraded Northrop Grumman from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $560.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $523.20.

Northrop Grumman Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of Northrop Grumman stock opened at $519.90 on Wednesday. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12-month low of $414.56 and a 12-month high of $528.76. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The business’s 50 day moving average is $481.80 and its 200-day moving average is $466.36. The stock has a market cap of $76.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.34.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $10.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.02 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $5.34 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 3rd will be paid a $2.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.58%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 57.62%.

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.