Wills Financial Group Inc. Sells 104 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Wills Financial Group Inc. lessened its holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 3.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,409 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 104 shares during the period. Wills Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $1,600,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital International Investors raised its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 8,239,434 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $3,866,133,000 after buying an additional 461,307 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in Northrop Grumman by 28.5% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,030,644 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $952,962,000 after purchasing an additional 450,858 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 337.1% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 482,112 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $226,250,000 after purchasing an additional 371,814 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $171,580,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 24.7% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,733,680 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $813,599,000 after purchasing an additional 343,018 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

NYSE:NOC opened at $473.38 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $68.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52 week low of $418.60 and a 52 week high of $555.57. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $491.64 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $490.24.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The aerospace company reported $6.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.33 by ($0.27). The firm had revenue of $9.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.07 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.24% and a net margin of 10.17%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a dividend of $2.06 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.74%. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is currently 29.08%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on NOC. Argus raised shares of Northrop Grumman to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $580.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $525.00 price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on Northrop Grumman from $575.00 to $550.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $500.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $542.94.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In other news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 192 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $429.08, for a total transaction of $82,383.36. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 709 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $304,217.72. The trade was a 21.31 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.65, for a total value of $1,783,687.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 212,852 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $101,243,053.80. This represents a 1.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 4,505 shares of company stock worth $2,127,182. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

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.