Stokes Family Office LLC Sells 734 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Stokes Family Office LLC lowered its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 45.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 867 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 734 shares during the period. Stokes Family Office LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $406,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 10.1% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,488,412 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,975,754,000 after buying an additional 410,736 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 3.5% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings 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 valued at $547,739,000 after purchasing an additional 79,263 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 74.7% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 2.5% in the third quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 867,137 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $381,705,000 after purchasing an additional 21,501 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 955 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.37, for a total transaction of $430,103.35. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,137 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,863,180.69. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 2,735 shares in the company, valued at $1,231,761.95. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 955 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 $430,103.35. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,137 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,863,180.69. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 3,149 shares of company stock valued at $1,421,147. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Northrop Grumman Stock Down 1.2 %

NYSE:NOC traded down $5.91 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $469.09. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,443,462 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,144,324. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1 year low of $414.56 and a 1 year high of $496.89. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $464.80 and a 200-day moving average of $465.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $69.42 billion, a PE ratio of 32.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04.

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 company 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 revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $5.50 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 24.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Shareholders 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 52.31%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $475.00 to $505.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $483.00 to $518.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. TheStreet lowered shares of Northrop Grumman from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Alembic Global Advisors raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $532.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $509.38.

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.