Janney Capital Management LLC Takes Position in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC)

Janney Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 695 shares of the aerospace company's stock, valued at approximately $356,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Bellwether Advisors LLC bought a new position in Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its position in Northrop Grumman by 291.7% during the fourth 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. Finally, VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter worth about $47,000. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on NOC shares. 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. Royal Bank Of Canada cut 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 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 report on Thursday, April 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $424.00 to $521.00 in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Northrop Grumman from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $548.33.

Northrop Grumman Trading Down 1.9%

Shares of Northrop Grumman stock opened at $494.16 on Friday. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 1 year low of $422.69 and a 1 year high of $555.57. The firm has a market cap of $71.12 billion, a PE ratio of 19.50, a PEG ratio of 5.40 and a beta of 0.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $490.07 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $482.87.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last announced 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 company had revenue of $9.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.07 billion. Analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd were given a dividend of $2.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 2nd. This is a positive change from Northrop Grumman's previous quarterly dividend of $2.06. This represents a $9.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.87%. Northrop Grumman's payout ratio is presently 36.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In other news, VP Roshan S. Roeder sold 991 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 319 shares in the company, valued at approximately $156,310. The trade was a 75.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $495.00, for a total transaction of $1,856,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 209,102 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $103,505,490. The trade was a 1.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 16,569 shares of company stock worth $8,322,279 over the last three months. 0.23% of the stock is 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.

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