Brown Advisory Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC)

Brown Advisory Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 11.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 15,023 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 1,898 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc.'s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $7,692,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in NOC. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Northrop Grumman by 55,522.3% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,520,158 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $778,336,000 after purchasing an additional 1,517,425 shares during the period. Capital International Investors grew its position 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 buying an additional 461,307 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 28.5% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,030,644 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $952,962,000 after buying an additional 450,858 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 337.1% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 482,112 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $226,250,000 after buying an additional 371,814 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 24.7% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,733,680 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $813,599,000 after buying an additional 343,018 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on NOC shares. Susquehanna cut their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $557.00 to $540.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company set a $525.00 target price on shares of Northrop Grumman and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $575.00 to $550.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $580.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of 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 note on Friday, April 11th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $550.00.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NOC opened at $514.65 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 12 month low of $426.24 and a 12 month high of $555.57. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $489.32 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $485.56. The stock has a market cap of $74.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.31, a PEG ratio of 6.10 and a beta of 0.15.

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

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd were paid a $2.31 dividend. This is a boost from Northrop Grumman's previous quarterly dividend of $2.06. This represents a $9.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 2nd. Northrop Grumman's payout ratio is currently 36.46%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Robert J. Fleming sold 3,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $505.77, for a total value of $1,770,195.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 1,827 shares in the company, valued at $924,041.79. The trade was a 65.70% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 729 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $505.77, for a total transaction of $368,706.33. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 7,552 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,819,575.04. This represents a 8.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 16,569 shares of company stock valued at $8,323,150. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.