Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC Sells 35 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC lessened its stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 4.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 837 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 35 shares during the period. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $392,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 70,532.5% in the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 637,105 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $347,611,000 after acquiring an additional 636,203 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter valued at about $283,114,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 74.7% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,174,556 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $517,028,000 after purchasing an additional 502,060 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 410,736 shares during the period. Finally, London Co. of Virginia purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the third quarter worth approximately $165,786,000. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 1,273 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.37, for a total value of $573,321.01. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,231,761.95. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 1,273 shares of the company’s 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,231,761.95. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,127 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,421,784.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 3,149 shares of company stock valued at $1,421,147 in the last quarter. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on NOC. Susquehanna decreased their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $560.00 to $540.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Wolfe Research downgraded Northrop Grumman from a “peer perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $450.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, December 14th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on 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 cut Northrop Grumman from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $494.33.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

NOC stock opened at $456.57 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.15. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $458.50 and its 200-day moving average price is $463.35. Northrop Grumman Co. has a one year low of $414.56 and a one year high of $496.89. The company has a market capitalization of $67.66 billion, a PE ratio of 33.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.35.

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

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 26th were paid a $1.87 dividend. This represents a $7.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.64%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 23rd. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is 55.49%.

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.