Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. Sells 958 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 28.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,413 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 958 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $1,235,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Salvus Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 1.5% during the first quarter. Salvus Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,349 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $691,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG raised its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 1,006 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $472,000 after buying an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 23 shares during the period. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,050 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $962,000 after buying an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Keel Point LLC boosted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Keel Point LLC now owns 1,069 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $502,000 after buying an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NOC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $575.00 to $550.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $580.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Northrop Grumman from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Argus raised shares of Northrop Grumman to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Truist Financial cut their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $600.00 to $550.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Nine research 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 stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $545.31.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 7,500 shares of the firm's 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 201,602 shares in the company, valued at $101,964,243.54. This trade represents a 3.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Roshan S. Roeder sold 991 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 4th. The shares were 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 owns 319 shares of the company's stock, valued at $156,310. This represents a 75.65% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 12,340 shares of company stock valued at $6,183,378 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.23% of the company's stock.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 4.0%

NOC traded up $20.09 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $517.22. The stock had a trading volume of 1,842,813 shares, compared to its average volume of 888,051. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $490.46 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $482.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $74.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.25, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.14. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52 week low of $418.60 and a 52 week high of $555.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.01.

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). The firm had revenue of $9.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.07 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 26.24%. On average, equities analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be given a dividend of $2.31 per share. This is a boost from Northrop Grumman's previous quarterly dividend of $2.06. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $9.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.79%. Northrop Grumman's payout ratio is currently 36.46%.

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.