Crescent Grove Advisors LLC Has $534,000 Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Crescent Grove Advisors LLC lessened its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 13.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 1,140 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 181 shares during the quarter. Crescent Grove Advisors LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $534,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Cibc World Market Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 59.4% in the first quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 7,390 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $3,305,000 after buying an additional 2,753 shares in the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 41.4% in the first quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 3,445 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,541,000 after purchasing an additional 1,008 shares in the last quarter. Prudential PLC purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,514,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in Northrop Grumman by 21.6% during the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,390 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $622,000 after purchasing an additional 247 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zions Bancorporation N.A. lifted its position in Northrop Grumman by 11.0% during the first quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 1,890 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $845,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Trading Down 0.1 %

Northrop Grumman stock traded down $0.41 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $450.88. 127,513 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 980,909. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $459.54 and its 200 day moving average price is $464.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $66.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.35. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52-week low of $414.56 and a 52-week high of $496.89.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.80 by $0.47. The business had revenue of $10.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.43 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.23% and a return on equity of 23.07%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $7.50 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 24.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 26th were given a $1.87 dividend. This represents a $7.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 23rd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is presently 55.49%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NOC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Susquehanna dropped their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $560.00 to $540.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 26th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $505.00 to $475.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 26th. TheStreet lowered shares of Northrop Grumman from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $450.00 price objective (down from $515.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Friday, January 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $494.33.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In other news, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 210 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $454.68, for a total value of $95,482.80. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,127 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,421,784.36. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 1,273 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.37, for a total transaction of $573,321.01. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,231,761.95. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 210 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $454.68, for a total transaction of $95,482.80. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,127 shares in the company, valued at $1,421,784.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 3,149 shares of company stock valued at $1,421,147 in the last three months. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.