Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC Increases Stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 14.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 1,291 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 161 shares during the period. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $604,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 24.6% in the third quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 2,191 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $964,000 after buying an additional 432 shares during the period. AE Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Northrop Grumman by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,468 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,407,000 after purchasing an additional 336 shares during the period. RFG Advisory LLC boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 19.8% during the third quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 575 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $253,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the period. Founders Financial Securities LLC boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 8.9% during the third quarter. Founders Financial Securities LLC now owns 2,122 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $934,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the period. Finally, Cedar Brook Financial Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 9.2% in the third quarter. Cedar Brook Financial Partners LLC now owns 3,550 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,562,000 after buying an additional 298 shares during the period. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE:NOC opened at $470.98 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $69.80 billion, a PE ratio of 34.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.35. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $460.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $465.12. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1 year low of $414.56 and a 1 year high of $496.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 1.05.

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

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 26th were given 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 1.59%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 55.49%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NOC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $505.00 to $475.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 26th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Alembic Global Advisors upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $532.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday. Susquehanna cut their price target on Northrop Grumman from $560.00 to $540.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Finally, TheStreet lowered Northrop Grumman from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $497.23.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 1,273 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 1,273 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,231,761.95. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 210 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was 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 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 3,149 shares of company stock worth $1,421,147 in the last three months. 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.