Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Has $60.96 Million Holdings in Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) by 167.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 98,071 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 61,376 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC owned about 0.07% of Northrop Grumman worth $60,964,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Soundwatch Capital LLC bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the second quarter worth about $6,457,274,000. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the second quarter worth $491,985,000. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 11.8% in the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,933,061 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,466,472,000 after acquiring an additional 308,680 shares during the last quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 49,898.2% in the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 169,494 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $84,744,000 after acquiring an additional 169,155 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,421,645 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $6,710,554,000 after purchasing an additional 155,344 shares during the period. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Shares of NOC stock traded down $2.59 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $664.31. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 63,513 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,249,393. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $579.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $579.07. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $426.24 and a fifty-two week high of $674.75. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The company has a market capitalization of $94.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.00, a PEG ratio of 5.41 and a beta of 0.05.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 21st. The aerospace company reported $7.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.43 by $1.24. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 9.82% and a return on equity of 25.49%. The firm had revenue of $10.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.68 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $7.00 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 17th. Investors of record on Monday, December 1st were given a dividend of $2.31 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 1st. This represents a $9.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.24%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Northrop Grumman news, Director Mark A. Welsh III sold 97 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $564.08, for a total transaction of $54,715.76. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 4,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,414,826.48. The trade was a 2.22% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $615.00, for a total value of $1,845,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 191,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $117,835,230. The trade was a 1.54% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 10,097 shares of company stock worth $6,099,716 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. BTIG Research raised their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $630.00 to $680.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. BNP Paribas Exane initiated coverage on Northrop Grumman in a report on Tuesday, November 18th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $710.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $575.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Truist Financial reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $623.00 target price (down previously from $688.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $770.00 to $777.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $656.82.

About Northrop Grumman

Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) is a leading U.S.-based aerospace and defense company that designs, builds and sustains advanced systems, products and technologies for government and commercial customers. Formed through the combination of Northrop and Grumman businesses in the 1990s, the company’s portfolio spans manned and unmanned aircraft, space systems, missile defense, radar and sensor systems, and integrated command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (C4ISR) solutions.

The company’s work includes airframe and platform manufacturing, space hardware and satellite systems, advanced mission systems and cybersecurity services, as well as logistics, sustainment and modernization programs.