Fortis Capital Advisors LLC Buys 618 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Fortis Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 13.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,341 shares of the aerospace company's stock after purchasing an additional 618 shares during the period. Northrop Grumman makes up 0.8% of Fortis Capital Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $2,506,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Northrop Grumman by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,677,781 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $5,949,556,000 after buying an additional 56,807 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,164,700 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,954,452,000 after acquiring an additional 23,808 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,025,263 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,417,850,000 after acquiring an additional 21,903 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its stake in Northrop Grumman by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,807,223 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,317,402,000 after acquiring an additional 109,308 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Northrop Grumman by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,533,378 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,188,889,000 after purchasing an additional 107,108 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company's stock.

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Insider Activity

In other news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 192 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $429.08, for a total value of $82,383.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 709 shares in the company, valued at $304,217.72. This trade represents a 21.31 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.65, for a total value of $1,783,687.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 212,852 shares in the company, valued at approximately $101,243,053.80. The trade was a 1.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 4,505 shares of company stock valued at $2,127,182. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company's stock.

Northrop Grumman Trading Down 1.2 %

NOC traded down $6.39 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $529.43. 926,739 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 863,872. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52 week low of $418.60 and a 52 week high of $555.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $483.13 and a two-hundred day moving average of $491.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $76.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.68, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.20.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $6.27 by $0.12. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.24% and a net margin of 10.17%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $2.06 per share. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Northrop Grumman's payout ratio is 29.08%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com cut Northrop Grumman from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Northrop Grumman from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $424.00 to $521.00 in a research note on Friday. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $500.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Argus raised shares of Northrop Grumman to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $543.65.

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.