Wealthspire Advisors LLC Raises Holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Wealthspire Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 0.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,988 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $1,867,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 960.0% in the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 53 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC lifted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 247.6% in the 4th quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 73 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the period. Finally, Providence Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 400.0% in the 3rd quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the period. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In related news, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 210 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $454.68, for a total transaction of $95,482.80. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,127 shares in the company, valued at $1,421,784.36. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 955 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.37, for a total value of $430,103.35. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,137 shares in the company, valued at $1,863,180.69. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 210 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,127 shares in the company, valued at $1,421,784.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 3,149 shares of company stock worth $1,421,147. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of NOC stock traded up $1.82 on Thursday, reaching $473.43. The stock had a trading volume of 836,173 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,005,871. The stock has a market cap of $70.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.34. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1 year low of $414.56 and a 1 year high of $496.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.13. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $465.70 and a 200 day simple moving average of $465.28.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released 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. The company had revenue of $10.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.77 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 24.09% and a net margin of 5.38%. Northrop Grumman’s quarterly revenue was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $5.50 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 24.7 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 26th were given a dividend of $1.87 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 23rd. This represents a $7.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.58%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.31%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on NOC shares. Alembic Global Advisors upgraded Northrop Grumman from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $532.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, April 22nd. TheStreet cut Northrop Grumman from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Northrop Grumman from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Northrop Grumman from $483.00 to $518.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” 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 assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $509.38.

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.