Private Advisor Group LLC Sells 687 Shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC)

Private Advisor Group LLC lessened its position in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 6.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 9,592 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 687 shares during the quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC's holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $4,911,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of NOC. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Bellwether Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Hollencrest Capital Management boosted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 790.0% in the 1st quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 89 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the period. HWG Holdings LP bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the 1st quarter valued at $46,000. Finally, Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the 1st quarter valued at $47,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $3,819,575.04. The trade was a 8.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 7,500 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 value of $3,793,275.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 201,602 shares in the company, valued at $101,964,243.54. This trade represents a 3.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 16,569 shares of company stock worth $8,323,150. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on NOC. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $557.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a report on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen cut Northrop Grumman from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $547.00 to $565.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Monday, July 14th. Ten 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, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $576.67.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

NOC stock traded up $1.62 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $570.12. 601,791 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,024,635. The stock has a market capitalization of $82.06 billion, a PE ratio of 21.03, a P/E/G ratio of 7.41 and a beta of 0.15. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 52 week low of $426.24 and a 52 week high of $576.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $497.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $488.96.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 22nd. The aerospace company reported $7.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $6.84 by $0.27. The business had revenue of $10.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.15 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 25.52% and a net margin of 9.74%. Northrop Grumman's quarterly revenue was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $6.36 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd were given a $2.31 dividend. This represents a $9.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 2nd. This is a positive change from Northrop Grumman's previous quarterly dividend of $2.06. Northrop Grumman's payout ratio is 34.06%.

Northrop Grumman Company 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.