Stanley Laman Group Ltd. Takes Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Stanley Laman Group Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 491 shares of the aerospace company's stock, valued at approximately $251,000.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Bellwether Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its position in Northrop Grumman by 291.7% during the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 94 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NOC has been the topic of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $580.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $525.00 price objective on Northrop Grumman and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Argus raised Northrop Grumman to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Northrop Grumman from $575.00 to $550.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their target price for the company from $424.00 to $521.00 in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $545.31.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $505.77, for a total transaction of $3,793,275.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 201,602 shares of the company's stock, valued at $101,964,243.54. This represents a 3.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Roshan S. Roeder sold 991 shares of the business'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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 319 shares of the company's stock, valued at $156,310. This represents a 75.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 12,340 shares of company stock valued at $6,183,378 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company's stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of NOC traded up $20.09 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $517.22. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,842,813 shares, compared to its average volume of 886,029. The stock's 50-day moving average is $490.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $482.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $74.44 billion, a PE ratio of 18.25, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 Co. has a one year low of $418.60 and a one year high of $555.57.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last released its 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 return on equity of 26.24% and a net margin of 10.17%. The firm had revenue of $9.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.07 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd will be paid a $2.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $9.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.79%. This is a boost from Northrop Grumman's previous quarterly dividend of $2.06. Northrop Grumman's 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.