Stonegate Investment Group LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC)

Stonegate Investment Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 6.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,832 shares of the aerospace company's stock after buying an additional 566 shares during the period. Stonegate Investment Group LLC's holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $5,034,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Bellwether Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased 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 buying an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Finally, VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter valued at about $47,000. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on NOC. Wall Street Zen lowered Northrop Grumman from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Northrop Grumman from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $424.00 to $521.00 in a report on Friday, April 11th. UBS Group cut 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. Wells Fargo & Company set a $525.00 price objective on Northrop Grumman and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $580.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $553.43.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Northrop Grumman stock traded up $3.27 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $497.92. 915,895 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 880,780. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.67 billion, a PE ratio of 19.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.43 and a beta of 0.14. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $422.69 and a fifty-two week high of $555.57. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $489.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $482.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.95.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The aerospace company reported $6.06 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $6.33 by ($0.27). The company had revenue of $9.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.07 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 25.46% and a net margin of 9.19%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd were issued a dividend of $2.31 per share. This represents a $9.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.86%. This is a positive change from Northrop Grumman's previous quarterly dividend of $2.06. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 2nd. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.46%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Roshan S. Roeder sold 991 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 319 shares in the company, valued at approximately $156,310. This represents a 75.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 729 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $505.77, for a total value of $368,706.33. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 7,552 shares in the company, valued at $3,819,575.04. This represents a 8.80% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 16,569 shares of company stock worth $8,322,279. 0.23% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.