Avantax Advisory Services Inc. lessened its stake in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 17.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 11,478 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 2,345 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.'s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $5,877,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 8,239,434 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $3,866,133,000 after purchasing an additional 461,307 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,164,700 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,954,452,000 after buying an additional 23,808 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,025,263 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,417,850,000 after buying an additional 21,903 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,807,223 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,317,402,000 after purchasing an additional 109,308 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,533,378 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,188,889,000 after purchasing an additional 107,108 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company's stock.
Northrop Grumman Stock Up 0.2%
Shares of NOC traded up $1.04 on Thursday, reaching $573.85. The stock had a trading volume of 130,784 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,011,112. The firm has a market capitalization of $82.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.43 and a beta of 0.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 1.04. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $507.21 and a 200-day simple moving average of $492.83. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 12-month low of $426.24 and a 12-month high of $576.86.
Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 22nd. The aerospace company reported $7.11 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.84 by $0.27. The business had revenue of $10.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.15 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 25.52% and a net margin of 9.74%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $6.36 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 EPS for the current year.
Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd were given a dividend of $2.31 per share. This is a boost from Northrop Grumman's previous quarterly dividend of $2.06. This represents a $9.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 2nd. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.06%.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
NOC has been the subject of several analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Susquehanna increased their target price on Northrop Grumman from $557.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Bank of America increased their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $547.00 to $565.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Northrop Grumman from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $586.79.
Get Our Latest Report on NOC
Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman
In other news, VP Roshan S. Roeder sold 991 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at approximately $156,310. This trade represents a 75.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 729 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction on Friday, June 13th. The shares were 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. The trade was a 8.80% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 16,569 shares of company stock valued at $8,323,150 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company's stock.
Northrop Grumman Profile
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Free Report)
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.
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