Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC Sells 205 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC trimmed its position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 2.6% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 7,664 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 205 shares during the quarter. Northrop Grumman makes up 2.3% of Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $3,668,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Northrop Grumman by 960.0% in the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 53 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC boosted its position in Northrop Grumman by 247.6% in the fourth quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 73 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the first quarter valued at approximately $38,000. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 0.2 %

NOC traded up $1.04 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $435.95. The company had a trading volume of 1,103,091 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,069,240. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52 week low of $414.56 and a 52 week high of $496.89. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The company has a market capitalization of $64.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.49, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.35. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $456.07 and its 200 day moving average price is $459.29.

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

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 28th were paid a $2.06 dividend. This is an increase from Northrop Grumman’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.87. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 24th. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is 57.62%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on NOC. Susquehanna lifted their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered shares of Northrop Grumman from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $477.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Friday, June 21st. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $475.00 to $505.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $483.00 to $518.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $510.36.

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.