Alps Advisors Inc. Has $1.51 Million Holdings in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC)

Alps Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 34.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,956 shares of the aerospace company's stock after buying an additional 750 shares during the period. Alps Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $1,514,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 55,522.3% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,520,158 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $778,336,000 after purchasing an additional 1,517,425 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its position in Northrop Grumman by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 8,239,434 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $3,866,133,000 after buying an additional 461,307 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in Northrop Grumman by 28.5% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,030,644 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $952,962,000 after buying an additional 450,858 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in Northrop Grumman by 337.1% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 482,112 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $226,250,000 after purchasing an additional 371,814 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Northrop Grumman by 24.7% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,733,680 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $813,599,000 after purchasing an additional 343,018 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $580.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Susquehanna lowered their price target on Northrop Grumman from $557.00 to $540.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on Northrop Grumman from $575.00 to $550.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Northrop Grumman from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $424.00 to $521.00 in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a "hold" rating and set a $542.00 price target (down previously from $580.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $550.00.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NOC traded up $0.78 during trading on Friday, reaching $514.65. The stock had a trading volume of 748,906 shares, compared to its average volume of 879,759. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The business's 50-day moving average price is $489.32 and its 200 day moving average price is $485.66. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 52 week low of $426.24 and a 52 week high of $555.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $74.07 billion, a PE ratio of 20.31, a P/E/G ratio of 6.11 and a beta of 0.15.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The aerospace company reported $6.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $6.33 by ($0.27). Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 25.46% and a net margin of 9.19%. The company had revenue of $9.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.07 billion. As a group, equities analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd were paid a $2.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $9.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.80%. This is an increase from Northrop Grumman's previous quarterly dividend of $2.06. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio is 36.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 729 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $505.77, for a total value of $368,706.33. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 7,552 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,819,575.04. This represents a 8.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Roshan S. Roeder sold 991 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $490.00, for a total transaction of $485,590.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 319 shares of the company's stock, valued at $156,310. This trade represents a 75.65% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 16,569 shares of company stock worth $8,323,150. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company's stock.

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.