Crewe Advisors LLC Takes $219,000 Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 457 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $219,000.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd grew its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1,402.9% in the first quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd now owns 12,925 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $6,186,000 after purchasing an additional 12,065 shares in the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman in the first quarter worth approximately $870,000. Norden Group LLC purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman in the first quarter worth approximately $778,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 7,574.5% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 123,637 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $57,879,000 after acquiring an additional 122,026 shares during the period. Finally, Red Mountain Financial LLC purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter worth approximately $264,000. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 6.4 %

Northrop Grumman stock traded up $28.41 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $470.53. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,050,294 shares, compared to its average volume of 974,075. Northrop Grumman Co. has a fifty-two week low of $414.56 and a fifty-two week high of $496.89. 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 company has a market cap of $69.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.33. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $441.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $455.43.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $10.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.77 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $5.50 earnings per share. Northrop Grumman’s quarterly revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 24.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 28th were paid a $2.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 24th. This is a boost from Northrop Grumman’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.87. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.75%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 57.62%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on NOC shares. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered Northrop Grumman from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $477.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Friday, June 21st. BTIG Research started coverage on Northrop Grumman in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $565.00 price objective for the company. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $475.00 to $505.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Alembic Global Advisors upgraded Northrop Grumman from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $532.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Northrop Grumman from $530.00 to $500.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $510.36.

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.