Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 119.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,742 shares of the aerospace company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,495 shares during the period. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $1,195,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in NOC. Bogart Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 14.1% in the 1st quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 170 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $81,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Northrop Grumman by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 965 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $462,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 1.1% during the second quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,068 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $902,000 after buying an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Renasant Bank grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 3.3% during the first quarter. Renasant Bank now owns 743 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $356,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the period. Finally, Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. now owns 2,961 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,386,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,389 shares of the business's 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 6,755 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,225,917.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,389 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $477.56, for a total value of $663,330.84. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 6,755 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,225,917.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $695,000.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 4,634 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,317,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company's stock.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 0.5 %

NYSE:NOC traded up $2.62 on Wednesday, hitting $505.00. The stock had a trading volume of 622,667 shares, compared to its average volume of 964,585. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $449.12 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $457.32. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1-year low of $414.56 and a 1-year high of $507.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The stock has a market cap of $74.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.31, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.32.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.36 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $5.93 by $0.43. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 25.44% and a net margin of 5.61%. The firm had revenue of $10.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.02 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $5.34 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on NOC. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $592.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. StockNews.com raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $474.00 to $575.00 in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, BTIG Research assumed coverage on Northrop Grumman in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. They set a "buy" rating and a $565.00 target price for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $521.33.

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.