Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. Lowers Holdings in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC)

Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. reduced its position in shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 9.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,667 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 592 shares during the quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD.'s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $2,902,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Bellwether Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. HWG Holdings LP bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 1st quarter valued at about $46,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 1st quarter worth approximately $47,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 291.7% in the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 94 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In related news, VP Roshan S. Roeder sold 991 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $490.00, for a total value of $485,590.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 319 shares in the company, valued at approximately $156,310. This represents a 75.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Robert J. Fleming sold 3,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 13th. The shares were 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 trade represents a 65.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 16,569 shares of company stock worth $8,323,150. 0.23% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 0.6%

NYSE:NOC opened at $507.71 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a twelve month low of $422.69 and a twelve month high of $555.57. The company has a market cap of $73.07 billion, a PE ratio of 20.04, a P/E/G ratio of 5.52 and a beta of 0.15. The company's 50 day moving average is $488.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $484.93.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $6.33 by ($0.27). Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 9.19% and a return on equity of 25.46%. The company had revenue of $9.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.07 billion. Analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The company 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 is an increase from Northrop Grumman's previous quarterly dividend of $2.06. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $9.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.82%. Northrop Grumman's payout ratio is 36.46%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on NOC. UBS Group lowered their target price on Northrop Grumman from $583.00 to $571.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $557.00 to $540.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Northrop Grumman from $580.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price target for the company from $424.00 to $521.00 in a report on Friday, April 11th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $550.00.

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.

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