Catalyst Financial Partners LLC Grows Stock Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Catalyst Financial Partners LLC boosted its position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 21.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,701 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 296 shares during the period. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $796,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. London Co. of Virginia purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the 3rd quarter worth about $165,786,000. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 74.7% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,174,556 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $517,028,000 after buying an additional 502,060 shares during the period. Raymond James Trust N.A. boosted its position in Northrop Grumman by 19.7% during the fourth quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 16,515 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $7,731,000 after acquiring an additional 2,723 shares during the last quarter. Phraction Management LLC purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $677,000. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC raised its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 2,801.7% in the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 330,499 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $154,720,000 after acquiring an additional 319,109 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on NOC shares. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Northrop Grumman from $475.00 to $505.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $483.00 to $518.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Susquehanna increased their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Alembic Global Advisors upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $532.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, April 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $509.38.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In related news, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 711 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $453.22, for a total value of $322,239.42. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,024 shares in the company, valued at $917,317.28. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 711 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $453.22, for a total value of $322,239.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $917,317.28. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 1,273 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.37, for a total transaction of $573,321.01. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,231,761.95. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 3,149 shares of company stock valued at $1,421,147. 0.22% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE NOC traded up $1.82 during trading on Thursday, reaching $473.43. 836,173 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,005,871. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $465.70 and its 200 day moving average price is $465.28. 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 firm has a market cap of $70.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.34. Northrop Grumman Co. has a fifty-two week low of $414.56 and a fifty-two week high of $496.89.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.32 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.83 by $0.49. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.38% and a return on equity of 24.09%. 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 company posted $5.50 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 24.7 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 26th were paid a dividend of $1.87 per share. This represents a $7.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 23rd. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is presently 52.31%.

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.