Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC Has $1.50 Million Stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC lowered its position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 5.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,197 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 171 shares during the period. Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $1,500,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,677,781 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $5,949,556,000 after acquiring an additional 56,807 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 461,307 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Northrop Grumman by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,164,700 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,954,452,000 after purchasing an additional 23,808 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Northrop Grumman by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,025,263 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,417,850,000 after purchasing an additional 21,903 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC increased its stake in Northrop Grumman by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,807,223 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,317,402,000 after purchasing an additional 109,308 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $475.65, for a total transaction of $1,783,687.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 212,852 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $101,243,053.80. This represents a 1.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 192 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $429.08, for a total transaction of $82,383.36. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 709 shares in the company, valued at approximately $304,217.72. This trade represents a 21.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 4,505 shares of company stock valued at $2,127,632 over the last three months. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on NOC. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $583.00 to $571.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $424.00 to $521.00 in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Susquehanna reduced their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $557.00 to $540.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Morgan Stanley upped their target price 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $575.00 to $550.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $545.31.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NOC opened at $471.36 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $498.10 and its 200 day moving average is $486.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.01. The company has a market capitalization of $67.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.15. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The aerospace company reported $6.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.33 by ($0.27). The company 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%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a dividend of $2.06 per share. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.52%.

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.