Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) Holdings Reduced by Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC

Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC trimmed its stake in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 6.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,866 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 485 shares during the quarter. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC's holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $3,516,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Bellwether Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter worth about $42,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 291.7% during the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 94 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on NOC. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Northrop Grumman from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $424.00 to $521.00 in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $525.00 target price on Northrop Grumman and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target 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, Argus raised shares of Northrop Grumman to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Nine 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 company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $545.31.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 1.2%

NYSE NOC traded up $6.07 on Tuesday, hitting $503.59. 761,542 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 885,284. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $490.91 and a 200 day moving average of $482.72. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a twelve month low of $422.69 and a twelve month high of $555.57. The company has a market capitalization of $72.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.43 and a beta of 0.14.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.07 billion. As a group, analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be issued a dividend of $2.31 per share. This represents a $9.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.83%. This is a boost from Northrop Grumman's previous quarterly dividend of $2.06. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio is 36.46%.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In related news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 729 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 13th. The stock was 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 now owns 7,552 shares in the company, valued at $3,819,575.04. The trade was 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, 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 value of $3,793,275.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 201,602 shares in the company, valued at $101,964,243.54. This represents a 3.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 16,569 shares of company stock worth $8,322,279. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by 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.