Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) Shares Sold by Pettyjohn Wood & White Inc.

Pettyjohn Wood & White Inc. lowered its position in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) by 15.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 555 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 105 shares during the period. Pettyjohn Wood & White Inc.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $284,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NOC. IMA Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Bellwether Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Hollencrest Capital Management lifted its position 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 acquiring an additional 79 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NOC has been the subject of a number of research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $542.00 price target (down from $580.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $580.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. UBS Group cut their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $583.00 to $571.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $600.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $586.79.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In other news, VP Roshan S. Roeder sold 991 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $490.00, for a total value of $485,590.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $156,310. The trade was 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. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 7,500 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 transaction of $3,793,275.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 201,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $101,964,243.54. The trade was a 3.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 16,569 shares of company stock worth $8,323,150 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

NYSE:NOC opened at $587.13 on Friday. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a twelve month low of $426.24 and a twelve month high of $587.88. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $84.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.64, a PEG ratio of 5.46 and a beta of 0.15. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $511.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $494.32.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 22nd. The aerospace company reported $7.11 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.84 by $0.27. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 9.74% and a return on equity of 25.52%. The firm had revenue of $10.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.15 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $6.36 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd were given a $2.31 dividend. This represents a $9.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 2nd. This is an increase from Northrop Grumman’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.06. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is presently 34.06%.

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.