Benjamin Edwards Inc. Increases Stock Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 22.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,955 shares of the aerospace company's stock after acquiring an additional 894 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc.'s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $2,326,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Albion Financial Group UT acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Bellwether Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter worth $42,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 291.7% in the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 94 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $575.00 to $550.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $583.00 to $571.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $580.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised Northrop Grumman from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $545.31.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Northrop Grumman news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $475.65, for a total value of $1,783,687.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 212,852 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $101,243,053.80. This represents a 1.73 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 464 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.75, for a total transaction of $213,788.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 245 shares in the company, valued at $112,883.75. The trade was a 65.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 4,505 shares of company stock worth $2,127,632. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company's stock.

Northrop Grumman Trading Down 0.3 %

NYSE:NOC traded down $1.57 on Friday, reaching $482.80. 639,600 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 889,724. The business has a fifty day moving average of $498.08 and a 200-day moving average of $487.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52-week low of $418.60 and a 52-week high of $555.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $69.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.15.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The aerospace company reported $6.06 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $6.33 by ($0.27). The business had revenue of $9.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.07 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 26.24%. As a group, analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a dividend of $2.06 per share. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio is presently 32.52%.

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.