Meeder Advisory Services Inc. Buys 341 Shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC)

Meeder Advisory Services Inc. lifted its holdings in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) by 14.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,646 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 341 shares during the quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $1,355,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. IMA Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the first quarter worth approximately $27,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Bellwether Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Hollencrest Capital Management increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 790.0% during the 1st quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 89 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the period. Finally, HWG Holdings LP purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman during the 1st quarter worth $46,000. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 7,500 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $505.77, for a total transaction of $3,793,275.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 201,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $101,964,243.54. The trade was a 3.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Roshan S. Roeder sold 991 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $490.00, for a total value of $485,590.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $156,310. This represents a 75.65% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 16,569 shares of company stock worth $8,323,150. 0.23% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 0.7%

Northrop Grumman stock opened at $572.51 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $81.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.10, a PEG ratio of 5.35 and a beta of 0.15. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 1-year low of $426.24 and a 1-year high of $576.86. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $505.23 and a 200-day moving average price of $492.27.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 22nd. The aerospace company reported $7.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.84 by $0.27. The firm had revenue of $10.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.15 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 25.52% and a net margin of 9.74%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $6.36 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd were given a dividend of $2.31 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $9.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.61%. This is a boost from Northrop Grumman’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.06. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is currently 34.06%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NOC has been the topic of several research reports. Barclays raised their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Bank of America raised their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating and set a $542.00 price objective (down from $580.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $578.93.

Northrop Grumman 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.