Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Position Increased by Coldstream Capital Management Inc.

Coldstream Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 56.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,384 shares of the aerospace company's stock after buying an additional 1,216 shares during the period. Coldstream Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $1,588,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NOC. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Albion Financial Group UT acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Modus Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 70 shares during the period. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NOC stock traded up $5.26 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $491.93. The company had a trading volume of 1,728,616 shares, compared to its average volume of 890,930. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $495.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is $488.44. The company has a market capitalization of $70.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.01. Northrop Grumman Co. has a twelve month low of $418.60 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 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 analyst estimates of $10.07 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.24% and a net margin of 10.17%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a dividend of $2.06 per share. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.68%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Northrop Grumman's payout ratio is 32.52%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $475.65, for a total value of $1,783,687.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 212,852 shares of the company's stock, valued at $101,243,053.80. This represents a 1.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 192 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $429.08, for a total transaction of $82,383.36. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 709 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $304,217.72. This represents a 21.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 4,505 shares of company stock worth $2,127,182. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $580.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $500.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $424.00 to $521.00 in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $600.00 to $550.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $545.31.

Northrop Grumman 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.