Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) Shares Bought by Atria Investments Inc

Key Points

• Atria Investments Inc increased its stake in Northrop Grumman by 6.1%, owning 21,604 shares valued at approximately $11.06 million as reported in their latest SEC filing.
• Northrop Grumman recently posted $7.11 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding analyst expectations, with a year-over-year revenue growth of 1.3% to $10.35 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend increase from $2.06 to $2.31 per share, reflecting a dividend yield of 1.62% and a payout ratio of 34.06%.

Atria Investments Inc raised its stake in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 6.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 21,604 shares of the aerospace company's stock after buying an additional 1,235 shares during the period. Atria Investments Inc's holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $11,061,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NOC. Brookstone Capital Management raised its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 121.0% during the 1st quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 6,640 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $3,400,000 after buying an additional 3,635 shares during the last quarter. GAM Holding AG increased its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 51.9% during the 1st quarter. GAM Holding AG now owns 2,338 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,197,000 after purchasing an additional 799 shares in the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group increased its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 12.8% during the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 8,857 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $4,132,000 after purchasing an additional 1,008 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,025,263 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,417,850,000 after purchasing an additional 21,903 shares in the last quarter. Finally, RFG Bristol Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter worth approximately $284,000. 83.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 0.2%

NOC traded up $1.04 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $569.52. 635,710 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 771,872. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $501.34 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $490.55. The company has a market cap of $81.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.99, a PEG ratio of 6.18 and a beta of 0.15. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $426.24 and a fifty-two week high of $576.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.84.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The aerospace company reported $7.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.84 by $0.27. The firm had revenue of $10.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.15 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 9.74% and a return on equity of 25.52%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $6.36 earnings per share. As a group, 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd were issued a $2.31 dividend. This represents a $9.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.62%. This is an increase from Northrop Grumman's previous quarterly dividend of $2.06. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 2nd. Northrop Grumman's payout ratio is 34.06%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on NOC shares. Truist Financial restated a "buy" rating and issued a $625.00 price objective (up from $550.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $424.00 to $521.00 in a research note on Friday, April 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $480.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a "hold" rating and set a $542.00 target price (down previously from $580.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Northrop Grumman from $547.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $576.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 729 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction on Friday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $505.77, for a total value of $368,706.33. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 7,552 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,819,575.04. The trade was a 8.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Roshan S. Roeder sold 991 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $490.00, for a total transaction of $485,590.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 319 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $156,310. This represents a 75.65% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 16,569 shares of company stock worth $8,323,150. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company's stock.

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.