Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Stake Lowered by Fortitude Advisory Group L.L.C.

Fortitude Advisory Group L.L.C. cut its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 18.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 512 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 118 shares during the quarter. Fortitude Advisory Group L.L.C.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $240,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wesbanco Bank Inc. grew its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 1,782 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $784,000 after buying an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. grew its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. now owns 524 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $245,000 after buying an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC now owns 844 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $395,000 after buying an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 604 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $266,000 after buying an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 16.2% in the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 165 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $73,000 after buying an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $483.00 to $518.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday. TheStreet lowered Northrop Grumman from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Alembic Global Advisors raised Northrop Grumman from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $532.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Northrop Grumman from $475.00 to $505.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $509.38.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In other news, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 1,273 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.37, for a total value of $573,321.01. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 2,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,231,761.95. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 711 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $453.22, for a total transaction of $322,239.42. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 2,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $917,317.28. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 1,273 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.37, for a total value of $573,321.01. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,231,761.95. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 3,149 shares of company stock valued at $1,421,147 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NOC traded down $3.75 on Thursday, reaching $482.62. 74,353 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 993,463. Northrop Grumman Co. has a fifty-two week low of $414.56 and a fifty-two week high of $496.89. The company’s 50 day moving average is $464.44 and its 200-day moving average is $465.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $71.42 billion, a PE ratio of 33.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.32 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.83 by $0.49. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 24.09% and a net margin of 5.38%. 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 earned $5.50 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 24.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 26th were given a $1.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 23rd. This represents a $7.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.55%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.31%.

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.