ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. Has $53.08 Million Position in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC)

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 2.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 103,670 shares of the aerospace company's stock after acquiring an additional 2,388 shares during the quarter. Northrop Grumman comprises 2.2% of ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. owned 0.07% of Northrop Grumman worth $53,080,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,677,781 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $5,949,556,000 after acquiring an additional 56,807 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in 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 buying an additional 461,307 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,164,700 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,954,452,000 after buying an additional 23,808 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,025,263 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,417,850,000 after buying an additional 21,903 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC grew its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,807,223 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,317,402,000 after buying an additional 109,308 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Robert J. Fleming sold 3,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 13th. The stock was 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 represents a 65.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Roshan S. Roeder sold 991 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $490.00, for a total value of $485,590.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 319 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $156,310. The trade was a 75.65% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 16,569 shares of company stock valued at $8,322,279 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company's stock.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Shares of NOC stock traded up $4.50 on Friday, hitting $503.40. 381,831 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 881,784. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.84. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 12 month low of $422.69 and a 12 month high of $555.57. The stock has a market cap of $72.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.51 and a beta of 0.15. The company has a 50 day moving average of $486.97 and a 200 day moving average of $484.13.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The aerospace company reported $6.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $6.33 by ($0.27). Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 25.46% and a net margin of 9.19%. The business had revenue of $9.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.07 billion. On average, equities research analysts predict 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. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd were given a dividend of $2.31 per share. This is an increase from Northrop Grumman's previous quarterly dividend of $2.06. This represents a $9.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 2nd. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio is currently 36.46%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NOC has been the topic of a number of research reports. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $557.00 to $540.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $575.00 to $550.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Northrop Grumman from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $424.00 to $521.00 in a report on Friday, April 11th. Wall Street Zen lowered Northrop Grumman from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $583.00 to $571.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $552.54.

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.