Apollon Wealth Management LLC Acquires 2,950 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Apollon Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 112.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,566 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 2,950 shares during the period. Apollon Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $2,606,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wesbanco Bank Inc. raised its position in Northrop Grumman by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 1,782 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $784,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. raised its position in Northrop Grumman by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. now owns 524 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $245,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC raised its position in Northrop Grumman by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC now owns 844 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $395,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Northrop Grumman by 16.2% in the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 165 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $73,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tilia Fiduciary Partners Inc. raised its position in Northrop Grumman by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Tilia Fiduciary Partners Inc. now owns 727 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $340,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on NOC shares. Alembic Global Advisors raised Northrop Grumman from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $532.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. StockNews.com raised Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $483.00 to $518.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. 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. 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 research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $509.38.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

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

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Shares of Northrop Grumman stock traded up $4.67 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $473.53. 734,284 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,009,010. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.13. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1-year low of $414.56 and a 1-year high of $496.89. The company has a market cap of $70.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.79, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.34. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $465.15 and its 200 day moving average price is $465.32.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analysts’ expectations of $9.77 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $5.50 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 24.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 26th were given a $1.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 23rd. This represents a $7.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.58%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.31%.

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.