Tilia Fiduciary Partners Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Tilia Fiduciary Partners Inc. cut its position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 4.5% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 844 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 40 shares during the period. Tilia Fiduciary Partners Inc.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $432,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 55,522.3% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,520,158 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $778,336,000 after purchasing an additional 1,517,425 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 8,239,434 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $3,866,133,000 after purchasing an additional 461,307 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 28.5% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,030,644 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $952,962,000 after acquiring an additional 450,858 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 337.1% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 482,112 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $226,250,000 after purchasing an additional 371,814 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter worth $171,580,000. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 0.3%

NOC stock opened at $489.55 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.14. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52-week low of $418.60 and a 52-week high of $555.57. The company has a 50-day moving average of $491.04 and a two-hundred day moving average of $482.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.91.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The aerospace company reported $6.06 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $6.33 by ($0.27). The firm had revenue of $9.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.07 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 26.24%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be issued a $2.31 dividend. This is an increase from Northrop Grumman’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.06. This represents a $9.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.89%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is 36.46%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on NOC. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $580.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Argus raised Northrop Grumman to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Susquehanna cut their target price on Northrop Grumman from $557.00 to $540.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on Northrop Grumman from $583.00 to $571.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $545.31.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Roshan S. Roeder sold 991 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $490.00, for a total value of $485,590.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $156,310. This trade represents a 75.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders sold 1,057 shares of company stock worth $517,733 over the last quarter. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.