Crowley Wealth Management Inc. Reduces Stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Crowley Wealth Management Inc. lowered its stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 13.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 209 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 32 shares during the period. Crowley Wealth Management Inc.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $107,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in NOC. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Bellwether Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 291.7% during 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. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NOC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $575.00 to $550.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company set a $525.00 price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Argus raised shares of Northrop Grumman to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $424.00 to $521.00 in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Northrop Grumman from $580.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $545.31.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

NYSE:NOC opened at $497.10 on Friday. Northrop Grumman Co. has a one year low of $418.60 and a one year high of $555.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.01. The firm has a market cap of $71.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.54, a PEG ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.14. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $490.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $482.42.

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

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be paid a dividend of $2.31 per share. This is a positive change from Northrop Grumman’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.06. This represents a $9.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.46%.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In related news, VP Roshan S. Roeder sold 991 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $490.00, for a total transaction of $485,590.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 319 shares in the company, valued at $156,310. This represents a 75.65% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 1,090 shares of company stock valued at $533,853 in the last ninety days. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.