Bank of New York Mellon Corp Lowers Position in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp cut its stake in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 3.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 896,109 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 30,059 shares during the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned 0.62% of Northrop Grumman worth $458,817,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,677,781 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $5,949,556,000 after purchasing an additional 56,807 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 8,239,434 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $3,866,133,000 after purchasing an additional 461,307 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,164,700 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,954,452,000 after purchasing an additional 23,808 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.7% in the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,807,223 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,317,402,000 after purchasing an additional 109,308 shares during the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on NOC. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Northrop Grumman from $580.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $525.00 price target on Northrop Grumman and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Northrop Grumman from $583.00 to $571.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Susquehanna decreased their price target on Northrop Grumman from $557.00 to $540.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their price target on Northrop Grumman from $600.00 to $550.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $552.54.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 7,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 13th. The stock was 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 directly owned 201,602 shares of the company's stock, valued at $101,964,243.54. This trade represents a 3.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 729 shares of the firm's 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 16,569 shares of company stock valued at $8,322,279 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.23% of the company's stock.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NOC opened at $503.40 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $486.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $484.24. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 1-year low of $422.69 and a 1-year high of $555.57. The firm has a market cap of $72.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.51 and a beta of 0.15. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The aerospace company reported $6.06 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 company had revenue of $9.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.07 billion. Analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The business 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 is a positive change from Northrop Grumman's previous quarterly dividend of $2.06. This represents a $9.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.84%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 2nd. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.46%.

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.

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