Coldstream Capital Management Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Coldstream Capital Management Inc. decreased its position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 9.2% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 2,227 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 225 shares during the quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $971,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of NOC. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter valued at about $605,000. Accretive Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 10.5% during the fourth quarter. Accretive Wealth Partners LLC now owns 528 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $247,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 21.9% during the fourth quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 557 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $241,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Jump Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 37.7% during the fourth quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 694 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $325,000 after buying an additional 190 shares during the period. Finally, Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 27.6% during the fourth quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 6,956 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $3,256,000 after buying an additional 1,503 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of Northrop Grumman stock opened at $515.93 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $76.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.34. The company’s 50 day moving average is $483.37 and its 200 day moving average is $466.71. Northrop Grumman Co. has a twelve month low of $414.56 and a twelve month high of $528.76. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.93 by $0.43. The company had revenue of $10.22 billion for 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $5.34 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.14 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 3rd will be given a dividend of $2.06 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.60%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 57.62%.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In related news, 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 4,634 shares in the company, valued at $2,317,000. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Northrop Grumman 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 6,755 shares in the company, valued at $3,225,917.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was 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 $2,317,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 2,846 shares of company stock worth $1,393,028 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on NOC shares. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target 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. Alembic Global Advisors cut shares of Northrop Grumman from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $560.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $474.00 to $575.00 in a report on Monday, July 29th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $593.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $592.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $523.20.

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.