Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Shares Sold by Fortitude Advisory Group L.L.C.

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

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. London Co. of Virginia acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter valued at about $165,786,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 74.7% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,174,556 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $517,028,000 after acquiring an additional 502,060 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. raised its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 19.7% during the 4th quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 16,515 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $7,731,000 after acquiring an additional 2,723 shares in the last quarter. Phraction Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 3rd quarter worth about $677,000. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 2,801.7% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 330,499 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $154,720,000 after acquiring an additional 319,109 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on NOC shares. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Northrop Grumman from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. TheStreet lowered Northrop Grumman from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Susquehanna raised their target price on Northrop Grumman from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Northrop Grumman from $483.00 to $518.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Alembic Global Advisors upgraded Northrop Grumman from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $532.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $509.38.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In other news, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 1,273 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 2,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,231,761.95. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 1,273 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 2,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,231,761.95. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 210 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $454.68, for a total value of $95,482.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,127 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,421,784.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 3,149 shares of company stock worth $1,421,147. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of NOC stock traded down $3.75 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $482.62. The company had a trading volume of 74,353 shares, compared to its average volume of 993,463. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $464.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $465.89. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52-week low of $414.56 and a 52-week high of $496.89. The stock has a market cap of $71.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.98, a PEG 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 earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.77 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $5.50 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 24.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 26th were paid a $1.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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 currently 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.