Victory Capital Management Inc. Sells 2,950 Shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC)

Victory Capital Management Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 3.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 86,489 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 2,950 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned 0.06% of Northrop Grumman worth $44,283,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brookstone Capital Management lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 121.0% during the 1st quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 6,640 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $3,400,000 after acquiring an additional 3,635 shares during the period. GAM Holding AG grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 51.9% in the 1st quarter. GAM Holding AG now owns 2,338 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,197,000 after purchasing an additional 799 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group raised its position in Northrop Grumman by 12.8% in the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 8,857 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $4,132,000 after buying an additional 1,008 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Northrop Grumman by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,025,263 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,417,850,000 after purchasing an additional 21,903 shares during the last quarter. Finally, RFG Bristol Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter worth $284,000. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on NOC shares. UBS Group lowered their target price on Northrop Grumman from $583.00 to $571.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "hold" rating and issued a $542.00 target price (down from $580.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Northrop Grumman from $580.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on Northrop Grumman from $600.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $576.67.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In other news, VP Robert J. Fleming sold 3,500 shares of the firm's 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 $1,770,195.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 1,827 shares of the company's stock, valued at $924,041.79. This trade represents a 65.70% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 729 shares of the company's 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 transaction, the vice president owned 7,552 shares in the company, valued at $3,819,575.04. The trade was a 8.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 16,569 shares of company stock valued at $8,323,150. 0.23% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NOC traded up $3.92 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $567.71. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,250,841 shares, compared to its average volume of 885,435. The firm has a market capitalization of $81.71 billion, a PE ratio of 20.93, a P/E/G ratio of 7.41 and a beta of 0.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $497.43 and a two-hundred day moving average of $488.96. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 52 week low of $426.24 and a 52 week high of $568.67.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 22nd. The aerospace company reported $7.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $6.84 by $0.27. The firm had revenue of $10.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.15 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 25.52% and a net margin of 9.74%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $6.36 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd were issued a $2.31 dividend. This represents a $9.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.63%. This is a boost from Northrop Grumman's previous quarterly dividend of $2.06. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 2nd. Northrop Grumman's payout ratio is 34.06%.

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.