HighPoint Advisor Group LLC Raises Holdings in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC)

HighPoint Advisor Group LLC grew its position in shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) by 0.5% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 9,145 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 45 shares during the quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $4,409,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Bellwether Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Hollencrest Capital Management lifted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 790.0% during the 1st quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 89 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 1st quarter valued at $46,000. Finally, Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the 1st quarter worth about $47,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on NOC shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $424.00 to $521.00 in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $575.00 to $550.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock 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 company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $550.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Roshan S. Roeder sold 991 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $490.00, for a total transaction of $485,590.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 319 shares in the company, valued at $156,310. This represents a 75.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Robert J. Fleming sold 3,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $505.77, for a total value of $1,770,195.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 1,827 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $924,041.79. The trade was a 65.70% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 16,569 shares of company stock valued at $8,323,150 over the last quarter. 0.23% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Northrop Grumman Trading Down 0.0%

NOC stock opened at $518.92 on Monday. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a one year low of $426.24 and a one year high of $555.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The stock has a market cap of $74.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.17 and a beta of 0.15. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $492.64 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $487.55.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its 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). The business had revenue of $9.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.07 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 25.46% and a net margin of 9.19%. Equities analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd were given a $2.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $9.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.78%. This is an increase from Northrop Grumman’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.06. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.46%.

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.