Forum Financial Management LP Buys 404 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Forum Financial Management LP boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 31.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,691 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 404 shares during the quarter. Forum Financial Management LP’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $893,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Ascent Group LLC increased its stake in Northrop Grumman by 0.5% during the second quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 4,337 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,891,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.9% during the third quarter. Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 2,141 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,131,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Asset Dedication LLC grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.0% during the third quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 2,025 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,069,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.4% during the third quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,478 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $780,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PBMares Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.5% during the third quarter. PBMares Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,421 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,335,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on NOC. StockNews.com raised Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Citigroup upped their target price on Northrop Grumman from $521.00 to $587.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. TD Cowen raised Northrop Grumman to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $509.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $550.56.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of NOC opened at $507.44 on Tuesday. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12 month low of $418.60 and a 12 month high of $555.57. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $523.43 and a 200-day moving average price of $483.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. The firm has a market cap of $73.93 billion, a PE ratio of 31.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.35.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.07 by $0.93. The company had revenue of $10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.18 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.57% and a net margin of 5.79%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $6.18 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were paid a $2.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.62%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.05%.

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.