Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Shares Acquired by Procyon Advisors LLC

Procyon Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 43.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 8,506 shares of the aerospace company's stock after acquiring an additional 2,580 shares during the quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC's holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $4,355,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 55,522.3% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,520,158 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $778,336,000 after buying an additional 1,517,425 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its position 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 buying an additional 461,307 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in Northrop Grumman by 28.5% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,030,644 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $952,962,000 after acquiring an additional 450,858 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in Northrop Grumman by 337.1% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 482,112 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $226,250,000 after acquiring an additional 371,814 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter valued at $171,580,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Roshan S. Roeder sold 991 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $490.00, for a total transaction of $485,590.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 319 shares in the company, valued at approximately $156,310. The trade was a 75.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders sold 1,057 shares of company stock worth $517,733 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company's stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

NYSE:NOC traded up $1.43 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $489.55. The stock had a trading volume of 372,436 shares, compared to its average volume of 891,260. Northrop Grumman Co. has a twelve month low of $418.60 and a twelve month high of $555.57. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $491.51 and a 200 day simple moving average of $482.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.27, a PEG ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.01.

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 for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $6.33 by ($0.27). Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 26.24%. The business had revenue of $9.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.07 billion. On average, analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be issued a $2.31 dividend. This represents a $9.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.89%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. This is an increase from Northrop Grumman's previous quarterly dividend of $2.06. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.46%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NOC has been the subject of several research reports. Argus raised Northrop Grumman to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. UBS Group cut their price target on Northrop Grumman from $583.00 to $571.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded Northrop Grumman from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $424.00 to $521.00 in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target 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 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $545.31.

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.