EP Wealth Advisors LLC Trims Stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

EP Wealth Advisors LLC cut its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 0.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 19,345 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 88 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $9,079,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 166,434 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $87,889,000 after buying an additional 4,969 shares in the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC lifted its position in Northrop Grumman by 89.3% during the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 1,257 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $590,000 after purchasing an additional 593 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co lifted its position in Northrop Grumman by 143.2% during the fourth quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 4,902 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,300,000 after purchasing an additional 2,886 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter worth about $622,000. Finally, Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 46.5% during the 4th quarter. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,403 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $658,000 after buying an additional 445 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of Northrop Grumman stock opened at $486.44 on Thursday. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1 year low of $418.60 and a 1 year high of $555.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The stock has a market cap of $70.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.16, a PEG ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.15. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $497.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $487.90.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued 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 business had revenue of $9.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.07 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.24% and a net margin of 10.17%. As a group, research analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a dividend of $2.06 per share. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is currently 32.52%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In other news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were 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 owns 212,852 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $101,243,053.80. The trade was a 1.73 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 192 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $429.08, for a total transaction of $82,383.36. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 709 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $304,217.72. The trade was a 21.31 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 4,505 shares of company stock worth $2,127,632 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NOC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on Northrop Grumman from $575.00 to $550.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report 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 report on Thursday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $580.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Wolfe Research upgraded Northrop Grumman from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Argus raised Northrop Grumman to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $545.31.

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.