AGH Wealth Advisors LLC Makes New $208,000 Investment in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

AGH Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 406 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $208,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in NOC. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Bellwether Advisors LLC bought a new position in Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 291.7% in the 4th 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 last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NOC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $575.00 to $550.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $580.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Northrop Grumman from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the company from $424.00 to $521.00 in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $525.00 target price on Northrop Grumman and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $545.31.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In other news, VP Roshan S. Roeder sold 991 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $490.00, for a total value of $485,590.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 319 shares in the company, valued at $156,310. This trade represents a 75.65% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders sold a total of 1,057 shares of company stock worth $517,733 in the last quarter. 0.23% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

NOC stock opened at $487.76 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $491.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $482.46. Northrop Grumman Co. has a fifty-two week low of $418.60 and a fifty-two week high of $555.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.20 billion, a PE ratio of 17.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.14.

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

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be paid a $2.31 dividend. This represents a $9.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.89%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. This is a positive change from Northrop Grumman’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.06. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.46%.

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.