Valeo Financial Advisors LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Valeo Financial Advisors LLC trimmed its stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 17.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,495 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 519 shares during the period. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $1,194,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NOC. Wesbanco Bank Inc. lifted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 1.2% in the third quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 1,782 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $784,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. lifted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. now owns 524 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $245,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC now owns 844 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $395,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Tilia Fiduciary Partners Inc. lifted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Tilia Fiduciary Partners Inc. now owns 727 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $340,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gradient Investments LLC lifted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 493 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $231,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

NOC traded down $0.28 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $437.09. The stock had a trading volume of 303,929 shares, compared to its average volume of 986,336. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $64.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.66, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.33. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $454.61 and its 200 day moving average price is $458.74. Northrop Grumman Co. has a twelve month low of $414.56 and a twelve month high of $496.89.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.83 by $0.49. The company had revenue of $10.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.77 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.38% and a return on equity of 24.09%. Northrop Grumman’s revenue was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $5.50 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 24.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 28th were paid a dividend of $2.06 per share. 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.89%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is 57.62%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. BTIG Research assumed coverage on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $565.00 price target for the company. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $530.00 to $500.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $477.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Friday, June 21st. Finally, Alembic Global Advisors upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $532.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $510.36.

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.