Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Stock Position Raised by Avior Wealth Management LLC

Avior Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 198.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 974 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 648 shares during the quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $456,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NOC. Cibc World Market Inc. increased its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 59.4% during the 1st quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 7,390 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $3,305,000 after purchasing an additional 2,753 shares during the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its position in Northrop Grumman by 41.4% during the first quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 3,445 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,541,000 after buying an additional 1,008 shares during the last quarter. Prudential PLC bought a new position in Northrop Grumman during the first quarter valued at about $1,514,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 21.6% in the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,390 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $622,000 after buying an additional 247 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zions Bancorporation N.A. lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 11.0% in the first quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 1,890 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $845,000 after buying an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In other news, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 711 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $453.22, for a total transaction of $322,239.42. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $917,317.28. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 955 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.37, for a total transaction of $430,103.35. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,137 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,863,180.69. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 711 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $453.22, for a total transaction of $322,239.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,024 shares in the company, valued at $917,317.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 3,149 shares of company stock valued at $1,421,147 in the last 90 days. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NOC opened at $452.29 on Friday. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52 week low of $414.56 and a 52 week high of $496.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $67.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $459.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $464.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.15.

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

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 26th were paid a dividend of $1.87 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 23rd. This represents a $7.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.65%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is currently 55.49%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on NOC. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $450.00 price objective (down previously from $515.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Friday, January 26th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. TheStreet cut shares of Northrop Grumman from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $505.00 to $475.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Susquehanna cut their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $560.00 to $540.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $494.33.

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.