Cetera Investment Advisers Boosts Stock Position in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC)

Key Points

• Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in Northrop Grumman Corporation by 8.6% during Q1, holding over 62,000 shares valued at approximately $31.93 million.
• Northrop Grumman reported earnings per share of $7.11 for the latest quarter, exceeding analyst expectations of $6.84, with revenues reaching $10.35 billion.
• The company has raised its quarterly dividend to $2.31 per share, reflecting a growth from the previous dividend and boasting a yield of 1.62%.

Cetera Investment Advisers grew its stake in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 8.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 62,363 shares of the aerospace company's stock after acquiring an additional 4,946 shares during the quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers' holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $31,931,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Capital International Investors increased its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 8,239,434 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $3,866,133,000 after acquiring an additional 461,307 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.6% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.7% in 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. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 4.1% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,533,378 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,188,889,000 after purchasing an additional 107,108 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Roshan S. Roeder sold 991 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the vice president directly owned 319 shares of the company's stock, valued at $156,310. The trade was a 75.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 729 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $505.77, for a total value of $368,706.33. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 7,552 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,819,575.04. This trade represents a 8.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 16,569 shares of company stock valued at $8,323,150. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NOC traded up $1.04 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $569.52. The company had a trading volume of 635,710 shares, compared to its average volume of 759,941. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $501.34 and its 200-day simple moving average is $490.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The stock has a market cap of $81.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.40 and a beta of 0.15. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a twelve month low of $426.24 and a twelve month high of $576.86.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The aerospace company reported $7.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.84 by $0.27. The company had revenue of $10.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.15 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 25.52% and a net margin of 9.74%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $6.36 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current 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 given a dividend of $2.31 per share. This is a positive change from Northrop Grumman's previous quarterly dividend of $2.06. This represents a $9.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.62%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 2nd. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.06%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NOC has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $600.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. UBS Group dropped 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. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Northrop Grumman from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $424.00 to $521.00 in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Truist Financial restated a "buy" rating and issued a $625.00 target price (up previously from $550.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Wednesday. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $576.67.

Northrop Grumman Company 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.