Larson Financial Group LLC Raises Position in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC)

Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 141.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,345 shares of the aerospace company's stock after purchasing an additional 788 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC's holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $689,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of NOC. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Bellwether Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the 1st quarter worth about $46,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter worth about $47,000. Finally, Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter worth about $47,000. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company's stock.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

NOC stock traded down $5.00 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $518.83. 873,898 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,017,516. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $491.91 and a 200 day moving average price of $486.95. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 12 month low of $426.24 and a 12 month high of $555.57. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $74.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.47, a PEG ratio of 6.17 and a beta of 0.15.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The aerospace company reported $6.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 25.46% and a net margin of 9.19%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd were issued a $2.31 dividend. This represents a $9.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.78%. This is a positive change from Northrop Grumman's previous quarterly dividend of $2.06. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 2nd. Northrop Grumman's payout ratio is presently 36.46%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $580.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "hold" rating and issued a $542.00 target price (down from $580.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company set a $525.00 price target on shares of Northrop Grumman and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $575.00 to $550.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $550.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 729 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $505.77, for a total value of $368,706.33. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 7,552 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,819,575.04. The trade was a 8.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 7,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $505.77, for a total value of $3,793,275.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 201,602 shares in the company, valued at $101,964,243.54. This trade represents a 3.59% 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 $8,323,150 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company's stock.

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.