Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC Acquires 1,168 Shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC)

Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 90.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,464 shares of the aerospace company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,168 shares during the period. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $1,262,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 176.3% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 2,970 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,394,000 after purchasing an additional 1,895 shares during the period. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG grew 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 during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 81.8% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 89,439 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $41,973,000 after purchasing an additional 40,247 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 7.2% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 17,849 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $8,376,000 after acquiring an additional 1,202 shares during the period. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter worth $201,000. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Susquehanna cut their price target on Northrop Grumman from $557.00 to $540.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research note 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. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective 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. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised Northrop Grumman from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $424.00 to $521.00 in a report on Friday, April 11th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $552.54.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Roshan S. Roeder sold 991 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $490.00, for a total transaction of $485,590.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 319 shares of the company's stock, valued at $156,310. The trade was a 75.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 729 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $505.77, for a total value of $368,706.33. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 7,552 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,819,575.04. This trade represents a 8.80% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 16,569 shares of company stock valued at $8,322,279. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company's stock.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

NYSE:NOC traded up $4.50 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $503.40. 381,831 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 881,784. The firm has a market cap of $72.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.87, a P/E/G ratio of 5.51 and a beta of 0.15. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 52 week low of $422.69 and a 52 week high of $555.57. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $486.97 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $484.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95.

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). The business had revenue of $9.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.07 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 9.19% and a return on equity of 25.46%. On average, research analysts anticipate 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 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 1.84%. Northrop Grumman's payout ratio is presently 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.