Donaldson Capital Management LLC Sells 6,345 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Donaldson Capital Management LLC reduced its holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 43.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,381 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 6,345 shares during the period. Donaldson Capital Management LLC's holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $4,291,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 3.0% in the first quarter. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 644 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $330,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Salvus Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Salvus Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,349 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $691,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Sapient Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Sapient Capital LLC now owns 2,049 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $962,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG increased its position in Northrop Grumman by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 1,006 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $472,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the period. Finally, Jacobi Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 1,987 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $933,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NOC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $583.00 to $571.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company set a $525.00 price target on Northrop Grumman and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $575.00 to $550.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Susquehanna decreased their target price on Northrop Grumman from $557.00 to $540.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $580.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $545.31.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 4.0%

Northrop Grumman stock traded up $20.09 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $517.22. 1,842,813 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 888,049. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52-week low of $418.60 and a 52-week high of $555.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The business's 50-day moving average price is $490.46 and its 200-day moving average price is $482.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $74.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.14.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last posted its 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 firm had revenue of $9.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.07 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.24% and a net margin of 10.17%. On average, research analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd will be issued a $2.31 dividend. This is an increase from Northrop Grumman's previous quarterly dividend of $2.06. This represents a $9.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. Northrop Grumman's payout ratio is 36.46%.

Insider Activity

In other Northrop Grumman news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 7,500 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 transaction of $3,793,275.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 201,602 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $101,964,243.54. This represents a 3.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Roshan S. Roeder sold 991 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $490.00, for a total value of $485,590.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 319 shares of the company's stock, valued at $156,310. This represents a 75.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 12,340 shares of company stock valued at $6,183,378 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company's stock.

Northrop Grumman Company 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.