Verdence Capital Advisors LLC Buys 1,051 Shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) by 72.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,493 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,051 shares during the quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $1,486,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Coign Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 1.3% in the second quarter. Coign Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,294 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $647,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. now owns 1,127 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $687,000 after buying an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. West Wealth Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. West Wealth Group LLC now owns 412 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $251,000 after buying an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 1,243 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $621,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the period. Finally, Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 6.9% in the 3rd quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA now owns 278 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $169,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Northrop Grumman news, Director Mark A. Welsh III sold 97 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $564.08, for a total value of $54,715.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 4,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,414,826.48. The trade was a 2.22% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $600.00, for a total transaction of $4,200,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 194,602 shares in the company, valued at $116,761,200. The trade was a 3.47% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 10,097 shares of company stock valued at $6,099,716 in the last three months. 0.23% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Northrop Grumman Trading Down 1.5%

Northrop Grumman stock opened at $657.09 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.11. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $426.24 and a fifty-two week high of $674.75. The stock has a market cap of $93.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.64, a PEG ratio of 5.41 and a beta of 0.05. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $581.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $580.15.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 21st. The aerospace company reported $7.67 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.43 by $1.24. The business had revenue of $10.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.68 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 25.49% and a net margin of 9.82%.The firm’s revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $7.00 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 1st were given a dividend of $2.31 per share. This represents a $9.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 1st. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.24%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $714.00 target price on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $770.00 to $777.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $700.00 price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Susquehanna restated a “positive” rating and set a $752.00 target price on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane began coverage on Northrop Grumman in a report on Tuesday, November 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $710.00 price target for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $656.82.

Northrop Grumman Company Profile

Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) is a leading U.S.-based aerospace and defense company that designs, builds and sustains advanced systems, products and technologies for government and commercial customers. Formed through the combination of Northrop and Grumman businesses in the 1990s, the company’s portfolio spans manned and unmanned aircraft, space systems, missile defense, radar and sensor systems, and integrated command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (C4ISR) solutions.

The company’s work includes airframe and platform manufacturing, space hardware and satellite systems, advanced mission systems and cybersecurity services, as well as logistics, sustainment and modernization programs.