Hoey Investments Inc. Sells 230 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Hoey Investments Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 20.6% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 884 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 230 shares during the quarter. Hoey Investments Inc.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $453,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. IAG Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in Northrop Grumman by 8.4% during the 1st quarter. IAG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 271 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $139,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. lifted its position in Northrop Grumman by 59.9% in the 1st quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 467 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $239,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. bought a new position in Northrop Grumman in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $251,000. Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE bought a new position in Northrop Grumman in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $891,000. Finally, Paragon Capital Management Ltd bought a new position in Northrop Grumman in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $439,000. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 4.0%

Shares of NYSE:NOC opened at $517.22 on Friday. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1 year low of $418.60 and a 1 year high of $555.57. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $490.98 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $482.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $74.44 billion, a PE ratio of 18.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.14. 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 quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The aerospace company reported $6.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.33 by ($0.27). Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.24% and a net margin of 10.17%. The business had revenue of $9.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.07 billion. On average, equities analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd will be given a $2.31 dividend. This represents a $9.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.79%. This is an increase from Northrop Grumman’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.06. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.46%.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $505.77, for a total value of $3,793,275.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 201,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $101,964,243.54. This represents a 3.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Roshan S. Roeder sold 991 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $490.00, for a total transaction of $485,590.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 319 shares in the company, valued at approximately $156,310. The trade was a 75.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 12,340 shares of company stock valued at $6,183,378 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on NOC shares. Wells Fargo & Company set a $525.00 price target on Northrop Grumman and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Northrop Grumman from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $424.00 to $521.00 in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on Northrop Grumman from $575.00 to $550.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Argus upgraded Northrop Grumman to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $545.31.

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.