Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Sells 22,211 Shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC)

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lessened its holdings in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 21.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 80,398 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 22,211 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC owned about 0.06% of Northrop Grumman worth $41,252,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in NOC. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Bellwether Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its stake in Northrop Grumman by 291.7% during the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 94 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the period. HWG Holdings LP bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the 1st quarter worth approximately $46,000. Finally, VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter worth approximately $47,000. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Robert J. Fleming sold 3,500 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction on Friday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $505.77, for a total transaction of $1,770,195.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 1,827 shares in the company, valued at approximately $924,041.79. This trade represents a 65.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 729 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction on Friday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $505.77, for a total value of $368,706.33. Following the sale, the vice president owned 7,552 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,819,575.04. This trade represents a 8.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 16,569 shares of company stock valued at $8,322,279 over the last ninety days. 0.23% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on NOC shares. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $424.00 to $521.00 in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $600.00 to $550.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $583.00 to $571.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $575.00 to $550.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $525.00 price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $552.54.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Shares of NOC stock traded up $3.54 on Tuesday, reaching $503.52. The company's stock had a trading volume of 651,245 shares, compared to its average volume of 877,803. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $484.26 and its 200-day simple moving average is $483.58. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 1 year low of $422.69 and a 1 year high of $555.57. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The company has a market capitalization of $72.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.39 and a beta of 0.14.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The aerospace company reported $6.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $6.33 by ($0.27). The business had revenue of $9.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.07 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 9.19% and a return on equity of 25.46%. Analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd were paid a dividend of $2.31 per share. This represents a $9.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.84%. This is a positive change from Northrop Grumman's previous quarterly dividend of $2.06. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 2nd. Northrop Grumman's payout ratio is presently 36.46%.

Northrop Grumman 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.