Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC Has $675,000 Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC raised its position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 2.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,319 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 36 shares during the period. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $675,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Schroder Investment Management Group raised its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 12.8% in the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 8,857 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $4,132,000 after acquiring an additional 1,008 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,025,263 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,417,850,000 after buying an additional 21,903 shares during the last quarter. RFG Bristol Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter worth approximately $284,000. Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 74.4% during the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 156,149 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $73,279,000 after buying an additional 66,638 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bay Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter worth approximately $363,000. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Roshan S. Roeder sold 991 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $490.00, for a total value of $485,590.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 319 shares in the company, valued at $156,310. The trade was a 75.65% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 7,500 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction on Friday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $505.77, for a total transaction of $3,793,275.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 201,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $101,964,243.54. This represents a 3.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 12,340 shares of company stock worth $6,183,378. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 4.0%

NOC opened at $517.22 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $490.98 and its 200-day moving average is $482.62. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1-year low of $418.60 and a 1-year high of $555.57. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The company has a market cap of $74.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.25, a PEG ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.14.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The aerospace company reported $6.06 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $6.33 by ($0.27). Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.24% and a net margin of 10.17%. The business had revenue of $9.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.07 billion. Equities research analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be issued a dividend of $2.31 per share. This is a positive change from Northrop Grumman’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.06. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $9.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.79%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.46%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NOC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $583.00 to $571.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Susquehanna dropped their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $557.00 to $540.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Argus raised shares of Northrop Grumman to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $525.00 price target on shares of Northrop Grumman and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $545.31.

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.