Washington Trust Advisors Inc. Grows Stock Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Washington Trust Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 7.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 455 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. Washington Trust Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $218,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Bogart Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 14.1% in the 1st quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 170 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $81,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. increased its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. now owns 524 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $245,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC now owns 844 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $395,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Tilia Fiduciary Partners Inc. increased its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Tilia Fiduciary Partners Inc. now owns 727 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $340,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Northrop Grumman by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 965 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $462,000 after buying an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on NOC. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $530.00 to $500.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $475.00 to $505.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lowered Northrop Grumman from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $477.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Friday, June 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $510.36.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 0.8 %

NYSE:NOC traded up $3.24 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $435.16. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 641,205 shares, compared to its average volume of 968,713. The stock has a market capitalization of $64.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 0.33. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $446.04 and a 200-day moving average of $456.75. 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 52-week low of $414.56 and a 52-week high of $496.89.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $10.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.77 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $5.50 earnings per share. Northrop Grumman’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 24.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 28th were paid a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 24th. This is an increase from Northrop Grumman’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.87. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is currently 57.62%.

Northrop Grumman Company 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.