Patron Partners LLC Invests $211,000 in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Patron Partners LLC bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 399 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $211,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of NOC. Optimum Investment Advisors boosted its position in Northrop Grumman by 241.2% in the second quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 58 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Northrop Grumman by 245.5% in the 2nd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 76 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $47,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 0.9 %

NYSE:NOC opened at $533.70 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $523.97 and its 200 day moving average price is $485.43. The company has a market capitalization of $77.76 billion, a PE ratio of 33.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52-week low of $418.60 and a 52-week high of $555.57.

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

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.54%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 51.05%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $592.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Citigroup upped their target price on Northrop Grumman from $521.00 to $587.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Alembic Global Advisors downgraded Northrop Grumman from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $560.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Finally, TD Cowen raised Northrop Grumman to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $550.56.

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.