GAM Holding AG Buys Shares of 1,522 Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

GAM Holding AG purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm purchased 1,522 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $804,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 25.9% during the first quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 443 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $212,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC boosted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 79.2% during the 1st quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 181 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $87,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC grew its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 13.4% during the first quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 1,540 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $737,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Northrop Grumman by 15.1% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 39,608 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $18,959,000 after purchasing an additional 5,184 shares in the last quarter. Finally, 180 Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 5.5% in the first quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,978 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $947,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the period. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $593.00 to $605.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. BTIG Research began coverage on Northrop Grumman in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $565.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Northrop Grumman from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $521.00 to $587.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $535.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In related news, 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 value of $695,000.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 4,634 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,317,000. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,389 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $477.56, for a total transaction of $663,330.84. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 6,755 shares in the company, valued at $3,225,917.80. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of the 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 directly owns 4,634 shares in the company, valued at $2,317,000. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 2,879 shares of company stock worth $1,410,703 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NOC stock opened at $516.40 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $522.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $480.30. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1 year low of $418.60 and a 1 year high of $555.57. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $76.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.11, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.34.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.36 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.93 by $0.43. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 25.44% and a net margin of 5.61%. The company had revenue of $10.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.02 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $5.34 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were given a dividend of $2.06 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.60%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.