Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. Increases Stock Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 5.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,148 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the period. Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $1,006,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 10.1% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,488,412 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,975,754,000 after buying an additional 410,736 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,194,298 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,846,289,000 after buying an additional 142,036 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 29.2% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,605,679 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $706,804,000 after buying an additional 362,515 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in Northrop Grumman by 30.1% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,567,612 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $723,799,000 after purchasing an additional 362,449 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in Northrop Grumman by 6.8% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,244,324 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $547,739,000 after purchasing an additional 79,263 shares during the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Northrop Grumman news, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 955 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.37, for a total value of $430,103.35. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,137 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,863,180.69. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Northrop Grumman news, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 210 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $454.68, for a total value of $95,482.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,127 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,421,784.36. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 955 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.37, for a total value of $430,103.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,137 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,863,180.69. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 3,149 shares of company stock valued at $1,421,147. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on the company. StockNews.com cut Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. TheStreet cut Northrop Grumman from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Wolfe Research cut Northrop Grumman from a “peer perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $450.00 price target for the company. in a report on Thursday, December 14th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Northrop Grumman from $505.00 to $475.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $450.00 target price (down previously from $515.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Friday, January 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $494.33.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE NOC traded up $3.09 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $480.45. 88,998 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 938,015. The business has a 50 day moving average of $457.07 and a two-hundred day moving average of $461.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $72.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.58, a PEG ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1 year low of $414.56 and a 1 year high of $496.89.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.80 by $0.47. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 23.07% and a net margin of 5.23%. The company had revenue of $10.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.43 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $7.50 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 24.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 26th were issued a dividend of $1.87 per share. This represents a $7.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 23rd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is 55.49%.

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.