Ellerson Group Inc. ADV Trims Stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Ellerson Group Inc. ADV reduced its position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 9.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 910 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 93 shares during the quarter. Ellerson Group Inc. ADV’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $397,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 10.8% during the second quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 522 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $228,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 8.9% during the second quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 15,247 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $6,647,000 after acquiring an additional 1,251 shares during the period. Provident Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the second quarter worth approximately $663,000. Choreo LLC increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 224.0% during the second quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 4,433 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,929,000 after acquiring an additional 3,065 shares during the period. Finally, Wedbush Securities Inc. increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 5.6% during the second quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 3,684 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,606,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares during the period. 83.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of the company’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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 4,634 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,317,000. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,389 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $477.56, for a total value of $663,330.84. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 6,755 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,225,917.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 4,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,317,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 2,846 shares of company stock worth $1,393,028. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NOC has been the topic of a number of research reports. Alembic Global Advisors lowered shares of Northrop Grumman from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $560.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $467.00 to $509.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $530.00 to $500.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. BTIG Research initiated coverage on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. They set a “buy” rating and a $565.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $523.20.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

NYSE:NOC opened at $524.37 on Tuesday. Northrop Grumman Co. has a one year low of $414.56 and a one year high of $528.76. 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 firm has a market cap of $76.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.67, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.34. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $480.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $465.95.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.93 by $0.43. The business had revenue of $10.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.02 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.61% and a return on equity of 25.44%. The company’s revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $5.34 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.14 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd will be given a $2.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.57%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 57.62%.

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.