ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. Purchases 1,188 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 99,961 shares of the aerospace company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,188 shares during the period. Northrop Grumman accounts for 2.2% of ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest holding. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. owned about 0.07% of Northrop Grumman worth $52,787,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Optimum Investment Advisors boosted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 241.2% during the 2nd quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 58 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co bought a new position in Northrop Grumman during the second quarter worth $28,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Northrop Grumman by 245.5% in the second quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 76 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the first quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Riverview Trust Co purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the 1st quarter valued at $47,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NOC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $593.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Northrop Grumman from $467.00 to $509.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Alembic Global Advisors downgraded Northrop Grumman from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $560.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Northrop Grumman from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $474.00 to $575.00 in a report on Monday, July 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $535.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 4,634 shares in the company, valued at $2,317,000. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,317,000. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,389 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $477.56, for a total transaction of $663,330.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 6,755 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,225,917.80. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 2,879 shares of company stock worth $1,410,703 in the last three months. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

NOC stock traded down $3.33 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $528.10. 909,230 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 873,577. The firm has a market capitalization of $78.15 billion, a PE ratio of 37.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $520.27 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $478.08. 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 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.11.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.36 earnings per share (EPS) 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 analyst estimates of $10.02 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 25.44% and a net margin of 5.61%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $5.34 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.16 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were issued a dividend of $2.06 per share. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.62%.

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.