Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. Buys 601 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 10.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 6,123 shares of the aerospace company's stock after buying an additional 601 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $3,135,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Sapient Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.1% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 2.2% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 900 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $422,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 1,987 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $933,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the period. Finally, Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,050 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $962,000 after buying an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Susquehanna decreased their price target on Northrop Grumman from $557.00 to $540.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Northrop Grumman from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $424.00 to $521.00 in a report on Friday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $580.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. UBS Group decreased 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. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $545.31.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE NOC traded up $1.43 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $489.55. The stock had a trading volume of 372,436 shares, compared to its average volume of 890,392. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.91. Northrop Grumman Co. has a fifty-two week low of $418.60 and a fifty-two week high of $555.57. The firm has a market cap of $70.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.14. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $491.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $482.46.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The aerospace company reported $6.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $6.33 by ($0.27). Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.24% and a net margin of 10.17%. The firm had revenue of $9.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.07 billion. Research analysts anticipate 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. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd will be paid a dividend of $2.31 per share. This represents a $9.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.89%. This is an increase from Northrop Grumman's previous quarterly dividend of $2.06. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. Northrop Grumman's payout ratio is 36.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In other news, VP Roshan S. Roeder sold 991 shares of the 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 transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,057 shares of company stock valued at $517,733. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Northrop Grumman

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.