WBH Advisory Inc. Sells 35 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

WBH Advisory Inc. trimmed its position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 1.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,300 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 35 shares during the period. WBH Advisory Inc.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $1,003,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in NOC. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 960.0% in the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 53 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, McIlrath & Eck LLC grew its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 247.6% during the 4th quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 73 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the period. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

NYSE NOC traded down $2.05 on Friday, hitting $489.27. The stock had a trading volume of 20,309 shares, compared to its average volume of 965,034. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52-week low of $414.56 and a 52-week high of $506.83. 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 company has a market capitalization of $72.41 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 firm has a 50-day moving average of $446.12 and a 200-day moving average of $456.34.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $10.22 billion for 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 business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $5.34 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.18 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 24th. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.68%. This is a boost from Northrop Grumman’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.87. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 57.62%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of the firm’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 sale, the vice president now owns 4,634 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,317,000. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of the 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 4,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,317,000. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction of $663,330.84. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 6,755 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,225,917.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on NOC shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $474.00 to $575.00 in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $592.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Susquehanna increased their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $521.33.

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.