Oxler Private Wealth LLC Sells 4,110 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Oxler Private Wealth LLC lowered its position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 58.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,865 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 4,110 shares during the period. Northrop Grumman makes up about 1.1% of Oxler Private Wealth LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position. Oxler Private Wealth LLC's holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $1,341,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Richwood Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Richwood Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,993 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,401,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Tillman Hartley LLC purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter worth about $211,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter worth about $1,353,000. Davis R M Inc. increased its position in Northrop Grumman by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Davis R M Inc. now owns 58,391 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $27,335,000 after purchasing an additional 1,068 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hanlon Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter worth about $203,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NOC has been the subject of a number of research reports. TheStreet cut shares of Northrop Grumman from a "b+" rating to a "c+" rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $475.00 to $505.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $483.00 to $518.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $514.33.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NOC traded up $2.96 on Wednesday, reaching $474.86. 556,377 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 974,105. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1-year low of $414.56 and a 1-year high of $496.89. The firm has a market cap of $70.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a 50-day moving average of $468.46 and a 200-day moving average of $465.13.

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

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 28th will be issued a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.74%. This is a positive change from Northrop Grumman's previous quarterly dividend of $1.87. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 24th. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio is 52.31%.

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.