Westwood Holdings Group Inc. Boosts Holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 41.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 635 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 187 shares during the quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $304,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 960.0% during 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 during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC lifted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 247.6% in the fourth quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 73 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the period. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the first quarter worth about $38,000. 83.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,389 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $477.56, for a total transaction of $663,330.84. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 6,755 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,225,917.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Northrop Grumman stock traded up $1.19 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $494.55. The company had a trading volume of 1,045,802 shares, compared to its average volume of 916,339. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12-month low of $414.56 and a 12-month high of $505.00. The company’s fifty day moving average is $443.21 and its 200-day moving average is $455.90. The company has a market capitalization of $72.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.32.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.36 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.93 by $0.43. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 25.44% and a net margin of 5.61%. The business had revenue of $10.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.02 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $5.34 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.18 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 28th were given a dividend of $2.06 per share. This is a positive change from Northrop Grumman’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.87. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 24th. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.67%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 57.62%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $530.00 to $500.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $477.00 target price for the company. in a report on Friday, June 21st. Finally, Alembic Global Advisors upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $532.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, April 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $516.29.

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.