Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) Shares Sold by Stratos Wealth Partners LTD.

Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. cut its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 9.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 5,667 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 592 shares during the period. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD.'s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $2,902,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC raised 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 purchasing an additional 1,517,425 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its stake in Northrop Grumman by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 8,239,434 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $3,866,133,000 after buying an additional 461,307 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 28.5% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,030,644 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $952,962,000 after acquiring an additional 450,858 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 337.1% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 482,112 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $226,250,000 after acquiring an additional 371,814 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 24.7% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,733,680 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $813,599,000 after acquiring an additional 343,018 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE NOC traded up $0.78 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $514.65. 748,906 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 879,009. The stock has a market capitalization of $74.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.31, a PEG ratio of 6.10 and a beta of 0.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.95. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $489.32 and a 200 day simple moving average of $485.56. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a twelve month low of $426.24 and a twelve month high of $555.57.

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

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd were given a dividend of $2.31 per share. This represents a $9.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.80%. This is an increase from Northrop Grumman's previous quarterly dividend of $2.06. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 2nd. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.46%.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 729 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $505.77, for a total transaction of $368,706.33. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 7,552 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,819,575.04. This trade represents a 8.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 7,500 shares of the business's 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 201,602 shares in the company, valued at $101,964,243.54. This trade represents a 3.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 16,569 shares of company stock valued at $8,323,150 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $580.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $542.00 target price (down previously from $580.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Tuesday. Susquehanna decreased their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $557.00 to $540.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $575.00 to $550.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $583.00 to $571.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $550.00.

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.