Western Wealth Management LLC Sells 1,172 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Western Wealth Management LLC trimmed its position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 37.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,979 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 1,172 shares during the quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $929,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of NOC. GTS Securities LLC grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 155.8% during the fourth quarter. GTS Securities LLC now owns 2,157 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,012,000 after acquiring an additional 6,023 shares during the last quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 254.5% in the fourth quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 2,074 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $973,000 after purchasing an additional 1,489 shares during the last quarter. Mosaic Family Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 18.0% in the fourth quarter. Mosaic Family Wealth Partners LLC now owns 670 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $314,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 13.4% in the fourth quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 26,607 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $12,486,000 after acquiring an additional 3,148 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 27.4% in the fourth quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 3,969 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,863,000 after acquiring an additional 854 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NOC has been the subject of several recent research reports. Citigroup raised their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Northrop Grumman from $583.00 to $571.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Argus raised Northrop Grumman to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on Northrop Grumman from $575.00 to $550.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $580.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Nine 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 company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $545.31.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 464 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.75, for a total value of $213,788.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 245 shares in the company, valued at $112,883.75. This trade represents a 65.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.65, for a total value of $1,783,687.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 212,852 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $101,243,053.80. This represents a 1.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 4,313 shares of company stock worth $2,045,249. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

NOC stock traded up $3.78 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $475.24. The company's stock had a trading volume of 868,621 shares, compared to its average volume of 904,807. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12 month low of $418.60 and a 12 month high of $555.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $68.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.15. The company has a 50 day moving average of $494.75 and a two-hundred day moving average of $483.63.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $6.33 by ($0.27). The firm had revenue of $9.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.07 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 26.24%. On average, analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be given a dividend of $2.31 per share. This is an increase from Northrop Grumman's previous quarterly dividend of $2.06. This represents a $9.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio is currently 36.46%.

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.