Clark Capital Management Group Inc. Takes Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Clark Capital Management Group Inc. bought a new position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm bought 502 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $236,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Albion Financial Group UT purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Bellwether Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 291.7% in the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 94 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on NOC. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $424.00 to $521.00 in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Susquehanna lowered their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $557.00 to $540.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Citigroup upped their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Argus raised Northrop Grumman to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised shares of Northrop Grumman from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $545.31.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.65, for a total transaction of $1,783,687.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 212,852 shares in the company, valued at approximately $101,243,053.80. This trade represents a 1.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 192 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $429.08, for a total transaction of $82,383.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 709 shares in the company, valued at approximately $304,217.72. The trade was a 21.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 4,505 shares of company stock valued at $2,127,632 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:NOC opened at $482.80 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $498.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $487.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $69.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.04, a PEG ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.15. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52 week low of $418.60 and a 52 week high of $555.57.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The aerospace company reported $6.06 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $6.33 by ($0.27). Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.24% and a net margin of 10.17%. The company had revenue of $9.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.07 billion. On average, analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.71%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.52%.

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.