Clarius Group LLC Has $449,000 Holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Clarius Group LLC lessened its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 12.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,030 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 152 shares during the quarter. Clarius Group LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $449,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Argus Investors Counsel Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Argus Investors Counsel Inc. now owns 2,713 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,270,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Americana Partners LLC grew its stake in Northrop Grumman by 13.2% during the fourth quarter. Americana Partners LLC now owns 1,092 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $511,000 after buying an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. grew its stake in Northrop Grumman by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 1,705 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $798,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 12.7% during the fourth quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 8,275 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $3,874,000 after buying an additional 933 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. raised its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 11.0% in the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 485 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $227,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NOC has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $592.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. BTIG Research started coverage on Northrop Grumman in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $565.00 target price for the company. Barclays lifted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered shares of Northrop Grumman from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $477.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Friday, June 21st. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $593.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $521.33.

Northrop Grumman Stock Down 0.0 %

NYSE NOC traded down $0.19 on Friday, reaching $491.13. The company had a trading volume of 109,398 shares, compared to its average volume of 965,500. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.32. The company’s fifty day moving average is $446.12 and its 200-day moving average is $456.34. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1-year low of $414.56 and a 1-year high of $506.83.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.36 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.93 by $0.43. The business had revenue of $10.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.02 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.61% and a return on equity of 25.44%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $5.34 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 28th were paid a $2.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 24th. This is a boost from Northrop Grumman’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.87. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.68%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 57.62%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,389 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $477.56, for a total value of $663,330.84. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 6,755 shares in the company, valued at $3,225,917.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,389 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $477.56, for a total transaction of $663,330.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 6,755 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,225,917.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $695,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 4,634 shares in the company, valued at $2,317,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.22% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.