Ameritas Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 103.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,416 shares of the aerospace company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,733 shares during the quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $1,693,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NOC. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 176.3% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 2,970 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,394,000 after buying an additional 1,895 shares in the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 1,006 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $472,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 14.3% in the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,528 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,186,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 40.6% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,275 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $595,000 after purchasing an additional 368 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 810.6% during the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 856 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $402,000 after purchasing an additional 762 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company's stock.
Northrop Grumman Stock Down 0.9%
NOC stock traded down $4.74 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $498.79. 817,393 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 878,195. The firm has a market cap of $71.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.68, a P/E/G ratio of 5.46 and a beta of 0.15. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 1-year low of $422.69 and a 1-year high of $555.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.95. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $485.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $483.72.
Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The aerospace company reported $6.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $6.33 by ($0.27). Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 25.46% and a net margin of 9.19%. The firm had revenue of $9.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.07 billion. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd were paid a $2.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 2nd. This is a boost from Northrop Grumman's previous quarterly dividend of $2.06. This represents a $9.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.85%. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.46%.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several analysts have recently weighed in on NOC shares. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $600.00 to $550.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $580.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Northrop Grumman from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $424.00 to $521.00 in a report on Friday, April 11th. Susquehanna cut their price target on Northrop Grumman from $557.00 to $540.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Northrop Grumman from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $552.54.
Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on Northrop Grumman
Insider Activity
In other news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 7,500 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $505.77, for a total value of $3,793,275.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 201,602 shares of the company's stock, valued at $101,964,243.54. This trade represents a 3.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Roshan S. Roeder sold 991 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $490.00, for a total transaction of $485,590.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 319 shares of the company's stock, valued at $156,310. This trade represents a 75.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 16,569 shares of company stock valued at $8,322,279 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company's stock.
About Northrop Grumman
(
Free Report)
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.
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