Mosaic Family Wealth Partners LLC Boosts Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Mosaic Family Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 18.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 670 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the quarter. Mosaic Family Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $314,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Albion Financial Group UT purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Bellwether Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 291.7% in the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 94 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on NOC shares. Wolfe Research upgraded Northrop Grumman from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company set a $525.00 price objective on Northrop Grumman and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $557.00 to $540.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. StockNews.com downgraded Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on Northrop Grumman from $575.00 to $550.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $545.31.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Northrop Grumman stock opened at $473.84 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $495.88 and its 200-day moving average is $485.08. The company has a market cap of $68.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.91. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12 month low of $418.60 and a 12 month high of $555.57.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The aerospace company reported $6.06 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.33 by ($0.27). The firm had revenue of $9.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.07 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.24% and a net margin of 10.17%. Equities analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be issued a $2.31 dividend. This represents a $9.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.95%. This is an increase from Northrop Grumman’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.06. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.52%.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In other news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.65, for a total value of $1,783,687.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 212,852 shares in the company, valued at $101,243,053.80. This trade represents a 1.73% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 464 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.75, for a total value of $213,788.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 245 shares in the company, valued at approximately $112,883.75. The trade was a 65.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 4,313 shares of company stock worth $2,045,249 in the last three months. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.