Silver Oak Securities Incorporated Increases Stock Holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Silver Oak Securities Incorporated raised its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 11.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 516 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $241,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of NOC. Wesbanco Bank Inc. grew its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 1,782 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $784,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. grew its stake in Northrop Grumman by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. now owns 524 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $245,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Northrop Grumman by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC now owns 844 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $395,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC grew its stake in Northrop Grumman by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 604 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $266,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Northrop Grumman by 16.2% during the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 165 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $73,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In related news, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 210 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $454.68, for a total transaction of $95,482.80. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,127 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,421,784.36. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Northrop Grumman news, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 210 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $454.68, for a total value of $95,482.80. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,127 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,421,784.36. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 955 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.37, for a total value of $430,103.35. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,137 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,863,180.69. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 3,149 shares of company stock valued at $1,421,147. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NOC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. StockNews.com upgraded Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Susquehanna boosted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. TheStreet lowered Northrop Grumman from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $475.00 to $505.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $509.38.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE NOC opened at $485.94 on Thursday. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12 month low of $414.56 and a 12 month high of $496.89. The company has a market cap of $71.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $464.44 and a 200-day simple moving average of $465.89.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.32 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.83 by $0.49. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 24.09% and a net margin of 5.38%. The business had revenue of $10.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.77 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $5.50 earnings per share. Northrop Grumman’s revenue was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 24.7 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 26th were given a dividend of $1.87 per share. This represents a $7.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 23rd. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is 52.31%.

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.