Marcum Wealth LLC Sells 215 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Marcum Wealth LLC cut its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 16.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,117 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 215 shares during the period. Marcum Wealth LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $487,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Argus Investors Counsel Inc. grew its stake in Northrop Grumman by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Argus Investors Counsel Inc. now owns 2,713 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,270,000 after buying an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 10.4% during the fourth quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 4,853 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,272,000 after purchasing an additional 458 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 42.4% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 235 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $110,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 17.5% in the 4th quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 2,050 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $960,000 after purchasing an additional 305 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SteelPeak Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC now owns 3,093 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,448,000 after acquiring an additional 201 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Northrop Grumman stock traded down $1.76 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $492.79. The company had a trading volume of 965,234 shares, compared to its average volume of 977,194. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12-month low of $414.56 and a 12-month high of $506.83. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $443.21 and its 200-day simple moving average is $455.62. 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 company has a market capitalization of $72.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.32.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.36 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.93 by $0.43. The firm 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%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $5.34 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.18 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.67%. This is a boost from Northrop Grumman’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.87. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is 57.62%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $2,317,000. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,389 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $477.56, for a total value of $663,330.84. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 6,755 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,225,917.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of Northrop Grumman 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 $2,317,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on NOC shares. Alembic Global Advisors upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $532.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. BTIG Research started coverage on Northrop Grumman in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $565.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Northrop Grumman from $467.00 to $509.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $477.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Northrop Grumman from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $516.29.

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.