Larson Financial Group LLC Buys 252 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Larson Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 121.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 460 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 252 shares during the quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $243,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Optimum Investment Advisors lifted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 241.2% during the second quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 58 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the period. Bank & Trust Co bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the second quarter worth $28,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 245.5% during the second quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 76 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the period. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the third quarter worth $40,000. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the second quarter worth $52,000. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

NYSE:NOC opened at $489.20 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.31, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.35. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52-week low of $418.60 and a 52-week high of $555.57. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $518.57 and a 200 day moving average of $487.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.09.

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

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a dividend of $2.06 per share. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 51.05%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total transaction of $616,067.08. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $286,183.41. The trade was a 68.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 1,255 shares of company stock valued at $667,727 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on NOC shares. TD Cowen raised Northrop Grumman to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Northrop Grumman from $509.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $550.56.

Northrop Grumman Company 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.