Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Shares Sold by Sunbelt Securities Inc.

Sunbelt Securities Inc. trimmed its position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 84.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 351 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 1,925 shares during the quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc.'s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $164,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 8,239,434 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $3,866,133,000 after acquiring an additional 461,307 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in Northrop Grumman by 28.5% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,030,644 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $952,962,000 after purchasing an additional 450,858 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 337.1% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 482,112 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $226,250,000 after purchasing an additional 371,814 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $171,580,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 24.7% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,733,680 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $813,599,000 after purchasing an additional 343,018 shares during the period. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.65, for a total value of $1,783,687.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 212,852 shares in the company, valued at approximately $101,243,053.80. This trade represents a 1.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In the last quarter, insiders sold 3,849 shares of company stock worth $1,831,461. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on NOC shares. Wolfe Research upgraded Northrop Grumman from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Argus raised shares of Northrop Grumman to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $583.00 to $571.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $545.31.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 1.0%

NOC traded up $4.97 during trading on Friday, hitting $484.36. 1,304,434 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 895,507. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.01. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $493.38 and a 200 day simple moving average of $482.56. The firm has a market cap of $69.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.09, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.15. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1 year low of $418.60 and a 1 year high of $555.57.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $6.33 by ($0.27). The firm had revenue of $9.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.07 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.24% and a net margin of 10.17%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 EPS for the current 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 given a dividend of $2.31 per share. This is an increase from Northrop Grumman's previous quarterly dividend of $2.06. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $9.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.91%. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.46%.

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.