Sterling Investment Counsel LLC Acquires 385 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Sterling Investment Counsel LLC increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 81.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 856 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 385 shares during the period. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $452,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Riverview Trust Co bought a new position in Northrop Grumman during the first quarter valued at $47,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 25.9% in the first quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 443 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $212,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 79.2% in the first quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 181 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $87,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 13.4% in the first quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 1,540 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $737,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 15.1% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 39,608 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $18,959,000 after purchasing an additional 5,184 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In related news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $695,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 4,634 shares in the company, valued at $2,317,000. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $695,000.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 4,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,317,000. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,389 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $477.56, for a total value of $663,330.84. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 6,755 shares in the company, valued at $3,225,917.80. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 2,879 shares of company stock valued at $1,410,703. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Alembic Global Advisors lowered shares of Northrop Grumman from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $560.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $467.00 to $509.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $593.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $535.00.

Northrop Grumman Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:NOC traded down $2.10 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $518.10. 102,822 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 869,150. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $522.66 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $480.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The stock has a market cap of $76.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.34. Northrop Grumman Co. has a fifty-two week low of $418.60 and a fifty-two week high of $555.57.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.93 by $0.43. The company had revenue of $10.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.02 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 25.44% and a net margin of 5.61%. Northrop Grumman’s revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $5.34 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were given a dividend of $2.06 per share. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is presently 57.62%.

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.