Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Shares Sold by WealthBridge Investment Counsel Inc.

WealthBridge Investment Counsel Inc. reduced its position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 0.4% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 11,905 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 50 shares during the period. Northrop Grumman comprises about 2.1% of WealthBridge Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 26th largest position. WealthBridge Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $5,698,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 960.0% in the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 53 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC increased its position in Northrop Grumman by 247.6% during the fourth quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 73 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the period. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the first quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $475.00 to $505.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. BTIG Research assumed coverage on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. They set a “buy” rating and a $565.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Northrop Grumman from $483.00 to $518.00 in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $530.00 to $500.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $477.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Friday, June 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $510.36.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Shares of NOC stock traded down $0.28 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $437.09. 303,984 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 961,376. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $453.86 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $458.59. The firm has a market cap of $64.68 billion, a PE ratio of 30.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.02. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1-year low of $414.56 and a 1-year high of $496.89.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $5.83 by $0.49. The firm had revenue of $10.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.77 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 24.09% and a net margin of 5.38%. Northrop Grumman’s revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $5.50 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 24.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 28th were issued a dividend of $2.06 per share. This is an increase from Northrop Grumman’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.87. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.89%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 24th. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 57.62%.

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.