Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) Shares Bought by Ascent Wealth Partners LLC

Ascent Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 21.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,870 shares of the aerospace company's stock after buying an additional 1,048 shares during the period. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC's holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $3,005,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NOC. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in Northrop Grumman by 176.3% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 2,970 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,394,000 after buying an additional 1,895 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 valued at $472,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter valued at $201,000. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 8,008 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $3,758,000 after purchasing an additional 305 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Harbour Investments Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 2,237 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,050,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 729 shares of the company'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 $368,706.33. Following the sale, the vice president owned 7,552 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,819,575.04. This represents a 8.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Robert J. Fleming sold 3,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $505.77, for a total transaction of $1,770,195.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 1,827 shares in the company, valued at $924,041.79. This trade represents a 65.70% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 16,569 shares of company stock valued at $8,323,150. 0.23% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a "hold" rating and issued a $542.00 price objective (down from $580.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Susquehanna cut their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $557.00 to $540.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. UBS Group cut their price target 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, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Northrop Grumman from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $550.00.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:NOC traded down $5.00 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $518.83. The stock had a trading volume of 873,903 shares, compared to its average volume of 876,287. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 1 year low of $426.24 and a 1 year high of $555.57. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $492.64 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $487.29. The company has a market capitalization of $74.68 billion, a PE ratio of 20.47, a P/E/G ratio of 6.22 and a beta of 0.15.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last issued 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). Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 25.46% and a net margin of 9.19%. The firm had revenue of $9.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.07 billion. As a group, equities analysts predict 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. 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 1.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 2nd. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio is presently 36.46%.

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.