Raymond James & Associates Buys 18,097 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Raymond James & Associates grew its stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 6.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 284,370 shares of the aerospace company's stock after purchasing an additional 18,097 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates owned approximately 0.19% of Northrop Grumman worth $136,117,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of NOC. Golden State Equity Partners lifted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter. Golden State Equity Partners now owns 727 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $320,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 16.8% during the 3rd quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 2,903 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,278,000 after purchasing an additional 418 shares during the period. PDS Planning Inc increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 13.9% during the 3rd quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 885 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $390,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the period. Busey Trust CO increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Busey Trust CO now owns 1,227 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $540,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the period. Finally, Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 428.8% during the 3rd quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 862 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $379,000 after purchasing an additional 699 shares during the period. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Shares of Northrop Grumman stock traded down $1.13 on Tuesday, hitting $485.09. The company's stock had a trading volume of 907,848 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,001,923. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.13. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1 year low of $414.56 and a 1 year high of $496.89. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $463.92 and a 200-day moving average price of $465.75. The company has a market capitalization of $71.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.35.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.83 by $0.49. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 24.09% and a net margin of 5.38%. The firm had revenue of $10.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.77 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $5.50 EPS. Northrop Grumman's revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 24.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 26th were paid a $1.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 23rd. This represents a $7.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.54%. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio is presently 52.31%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NOC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $475.00 to $505.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday. StockNews.com raised Northrop Grumman from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. TheStreet cut Northrop Grumman from a "b+" rating to a "c+" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $483.00 to $518.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $509.38.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 1,273 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,231,761.95. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 1,273 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,231,761.95. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 955 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.37, for a total value of $430,103.35. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,137 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,863,180.69. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 3,149 shares of company stock worth $1,421,147. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company's stock.

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.

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