Welch & Forbes LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Welch & Forbes LLC lowered its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 3.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,634 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 141 shares during the quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $1,701,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NOC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in Northrop Grumman by 10.1% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,488,412 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,975,754,000 after acquiring an additional 410,736 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,194,298 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,846,289,000 after purchasing an additional 142,036 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 6.8% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,244,324 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $547,739,000 after acquiring an additional 79,263 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 74.7% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,174,556 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $517,028,000 after purchasing an additional 502,060 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its stake in Northrop Grumman by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 867,137 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $381,705,000 after acquiring an additional 21,501 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 210 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $454.68, for a total value of $95,482.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,127 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,421,784.36. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 210 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $454.68, for a total transaction of $95,482.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,127 shares in the company, valued at $1,421,784.36. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 711 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $453.22, for a total value of $322,239.42. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,024 shares in the company, valued at $917,317.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 3,149 shares of company stock valued at $1,421,147 over the last ninety days. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

NOC traded down $1.41 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $472.34. The stock had a trading volume of 147,816 shares, compared to its average volume of 999,075. The firm has a market cap of $69.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.34. Northrop Grumman Co. has a one year low of $414.56 and a one year high of $496.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $465.45 and a 200-day moving average price of $465.24.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.83 by $0.49. The business had revenue of $10.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.77 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.38% and a return on equity of 24.09%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $5.50 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 24.7 EPS for the current 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 paid a $1.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 23rd. This represents a $7.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.58%. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is presently 52.31%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on NOC. StockNews.com raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $483.00 to $518.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. Alembic Global Advisors upgraded Northrop Grumman from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $532.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $475.00 to $505.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Finally, TheStreet lowered shares of Northrop Grumman from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $509.38.

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.