Bristlecone Advisors LLC Has $2.96 Million Stock Position in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC)

Key Points

• Bristlecone Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Northrop Grumman by 7.4%, holding 5,779 shares valued at approximately $2.96 million at the end of the first quarter.
• Significant increases in holdings were observed from other institutional investors, with GAMMA Investing LLC raising its stake by 55,522.3%, now owning 1,520,158 shares valued at $778 million.
• Northrop Grumman announced a quarterly dividend of $2.31 per share, marking an increase from the previous quarterly dividend of $2.06, with a current yield of 1.6%.

Bristlecone Advisors LLC decreased its position in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 7.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,779 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 460 shares during the period. Bristlecone Advisors LLC's holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $2,959,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 55,522.3% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,520,158 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $778,336,000 after buying an additional 1,517,425 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,266,301 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $6,792,479,000 after buying an additional 588,520 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 8,239,434 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $3,866,133,000 after buying an additional 461,307 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 28.5% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,030,644 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $952,962,000 after buying an additional 450,858 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 337.1% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 482,112 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $226,250,000 after purchasing an additional 371,814 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In other news, VP Robert J. Fleming sold 3,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 13th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at $924,041.79. The trade was a 65.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 7,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $505.77, for a total transaction of $3,793,275.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 201,602 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $101,964,243.54. The trade was a 3.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 16,536 shares of company stock valued at $8,306,857. Insiders own 0.23% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NOC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised 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 report on Friday, April 11th. Susquehanna raised their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $557.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $600.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $480.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $586.79.

Northrop Grumman Trading Down 0.3%

NOC opened at $587.43 on Friday. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 1-year low of $426.24 and a 1-year high of $594.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. The company has a market cap of $84.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.58 and a beta of 0.15. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $520.72 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $497.35.

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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.84 by $0.27. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 9.74% and a return on equity of 25.52%. The firm had revenue of $10.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.15 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $6.36 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd were given a dividend of $2.31 per share. 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 1.6%. Northrop Grumman's payout ratio is presently 34.06%.

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.

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