First Horizon Advisors Inc. Cuts Stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

First Horizon Advisors Inc. cut its position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 18.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,890 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 423 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $885,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in NOC. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in Northrop Grumman by 8.3% in the 3rd quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,373 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $604,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Invesco LLC raised its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 9.2% during the third quarter. Invesco LLC now owns 7,078 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $3,116,000 after purchasing an additional 596 shares during the last quarter. Crescent Grove Advisors LLC lifted its position in Northrop Grumman by 28.3% during the third quarter. Crescent Grove Advisors LLC now owns 1,321 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $581,000 after purchasing an additional 291 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 9.2% in the third quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,341 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $590,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ocean Capital Management LLC grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 14.1% in the 3rd quarter. Ocean Capital Management LLC now owns 7,825 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $3,444,000 after purchasing an additional 966 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In related news, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 210 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 $1,421,784.36. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 210 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $1,421,784.36. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 1,273 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,231,761.95. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 3,149 shares of company stock valued at $1,421,147. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Alembic Global Advisors raised Northrop Grumman from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $532.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Northrop Grumman from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. TheStreet downgraded Northrop Grumman from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $475.00 to $505.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $509.38.

Northrop Grumman Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of Northrop Grumman stock opened at $469.09 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.13. The company has a fifty day moving average of $464.96 and a 200 day moving average of $465.81. The company has a market capitalization of $69.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.34. Northrop Grumman Co. has a fifty-two week low of $414.56 and a fifty-two week high of $496.89.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.83 by $0.49. The firm had revenue of $10.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.77 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 24.09% and a net margin of 5.38%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $5.50 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 24.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 26th were given a dividend of $1.87 per share. This represents a $7.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.59%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 23rd. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is currently 52.31%.

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.