Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC Lowers Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC cut its position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 15.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,882 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 545 shares during the quarter. Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $1,473,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Northrop Grumman by 55,522.3% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,520,158 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $778,336,000 after purchasing an additional 1,517,425 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its position in Northrop Grumman by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 8,239,434 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $3,866,133,000 after purchasing an additional 461,307 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 28.5% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,030,644 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $952,962,000 after buying an additional 450,858 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 337.1% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 482,112 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $226,250,000 after buying an additional 371,814 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $171,580,000. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on NOC shares. Argus raised Northrop Grumman to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $600.00 to $550.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Northrop Grumman from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $424.00 to $521.00 in a research note on Friday, April 11th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Northrop Grumman from $583.00 to $571.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Susquehanna decreased their price target on Northrop Grumman from $557.00 to $540.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $545.31.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

NOC stock traded down $4.39 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $486.90. 262,156 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 891,447. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.08 billion, a PE ratio of 17.18, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.15. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52 week low of $418.60 and a 52 week high of $555.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $492.00 and a 200 day moving average price of $482.47.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 26.24%. The business had revenue of $9.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.07 billion. As a group, analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be paid a $2.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. This is an increase from Northrop Grumman's previous quarterly dividend of $2.06. This represents a $9.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.90%. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio is 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.