NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC Has $2.50 Million Stock Holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 12.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,873 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 529 shares during the period. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $2,495,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Bellwether Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its stake 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 buying an additional 70 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on NOC shares. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Northrop Grumman from $580.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $424.00 to $521.00 in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Susquehanna dropped their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $557.00 to $540.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $525.00 price objective on Northrop Grumman and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $545.31.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

NOC opened at $517.22 on Friday. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1-year low of $418.60 and a 1-year high of $555.57. The company has a market cap of $74.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.25, a PEG ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.14. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $490.98 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $482.62. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The aerospace company reported $6.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 26.24%. On average, analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd will be issued a dividend of $2.31 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $9.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.79%. This is an increase from Northrop Grumman’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.06. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is 36.46%.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In other news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $505.77, for a total value of $3,793,275.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 201,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $101,964,243.54. This represents a 3.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Roshan S. Roeder sold 991 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $490.00, for a total value of $485,590.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $156,310. The trade was a 75.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 12,340 shares of company stock valued at $6,183,378. 0.23% of the stock is owned by 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.