Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) Shares Bought by Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC

Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) by 90.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,464 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 1,168 shares during the period. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $1,262,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NOC. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 176.3% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 2,970 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,394,000 after buying an additional 1,895 shares during the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG boosted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 1,006 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $472,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 81.8% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 89,439 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $41,973,000 after buying an additional 40,247 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 7.2% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 17,849 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $8,376,000 after buying an additional 1,202 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter valued at $201,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

NOC opened at $503.40 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $486.97 and its 200 day moving average price is $484.24. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 12-month low of $422.69 and a 12-month high of $555.57. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The firm has a market cap of $72.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.87, a PEG ratio of 5.51 and a beta of 0.15.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The aerospace company reported $6.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $6.33 by ($0.27). Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 25.46% and a net margin of 9.19%. The firm had revenue of $9.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.07 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd were issued a dividend of $2.31 per share. This is an increase from Northrop Grumman’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.06. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $9.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.84%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is 36.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Northrop Grumman news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $505.77, for a total transaction of $3,793,275.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 201,602 shares in the company, valued at $101,964,243.54. This represents a 3.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Roshan S. Roeder sold 991 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $490.00, for a total value of $485,590.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 319 shares in the company, valued at approximately $156,310. This trade represents a 75.65% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 16,569 shares of company stock worth $8,322,279 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on NOC. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Northrop Grumman from $580.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Wall Street Zen lowered Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on Northrop Grumman from $575.00 to $550.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Northrop Grumman from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the company from $424.00 to $521.00 in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target on Northrop Grumman from $583.00 to $571.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $552.54.

Northrop Grumman 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.