InterOcean Capital Group LLC Has $247,000 Holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

InterOcean Capital Group LLC trimmed its holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 6.3% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 517 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 35 shares during the period. InterOcean Capital Group LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $247,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 4.8% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,634,043 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,218,132,000 after acquiring an additional 211,459 shares in the last quarter. Sanders Capital LLC lifted its position in Northrop Grumman by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 2,271,466 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,063,364,000 after purchasing an additional 80,887 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Northrop Grumman by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,260,599 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $590,137,000 after buying an additional 16,275 shares in the last quarter. Putnam Investments LLC increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 1,156,477 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $541,393,000 after buying an additional 28,934 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 789,096 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $369,407,000 after buying an additional 21,653 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NOC opened at $473.02 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.13. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52 week low of $414.56 and a 52 week high of $496.89. The firm has a market cap of $70.00 billion, a PE ratio of 32.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.33. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $441.27 and its 200-day moving average is $455.43.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.36 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.95 by $0.41. The firm had revenue of $10.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.02 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 24.09% and a net margin of 5.38%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $5.34 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 24.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 28th were issued a $2.06 dividend. 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.74%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is presently 57.62%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on NOC shares. BTIG Research started coverage on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. They set a “buy” rating and a $565.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com raised Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 12th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $475.00 to $505.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Susquehanna lifted their target price on Northrop Grumman from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded 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 research note on Friday, June 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $509.71.

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.