Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC Increases Stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 134.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,696 shares of the aerospace company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,695 shares during the period. Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC's holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $2,198,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 94.7% during the 4th quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 104,460 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $48,902,000 after purchasing an additional 50,800 shares in the last quarter. Capital Advisors Inc. OK boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 10.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Inc. OK now owns 1,332 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $624,000 after buying an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter worth about $4,026,000. Simplicity Solutions LLC boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 12.4% during the 4th quarter. Simplicity Solutions LLC now owns 8,252 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $3,863,000 after buying an additional 910 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Graypoint LLC boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 8.5% during the 4th quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 1,809 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $847,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 210 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $454.68, for a total value of $95,482.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,127 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,421,784.36. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 1,273 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.37, for a total transaction of $573,321.01. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,735 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,231,761.95. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 210 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $454.68, for a total transaction of $95,482.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,127 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,421,784.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 3,149 shares of company stock worth $1,421,147 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company's stock.

Northrop Grumman Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:NOC traded down $1.72 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $456.11. 1,045,967 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 868,361. The firm has a market capitalization of $67.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.84, a PEG ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.35. The business's fifty day moving average price is $459.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $464.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.15. Northrop Grumman Co. has a twelve month low of $414.56 and a twelve month high of $496.89.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.27 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.80 by $0.47. The company had revenue of $10.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.43 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.23% and a return on equity of 23.07%. Northrop Grumman's revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $7.50 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 24.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 26th were issued a $1.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 23rd. This represents a $7.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.64%. Northrop Grumman's payout ratio is 55.49%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on NOC. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $450.00 target price (down from $515.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Friday, January 26th. TheStreet downgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a "b+" rating to a "c+" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Susquehanna lowered their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $560.00 to $540.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $505.00 to $475.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $494.33.

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.