Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Buys 4,562 Shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC)

Key Points

• Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI increased its stake in Northrop Grumman Corporation by 53.1% during the first quarter, now holding shares worth approximately $6.736 million.
• Northrop Grumman reported a quarterly earnings per share of $7.11, exceeding analysts' predictions of $6.84, with a net margin of 9.74%.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $2.31 per share, representing a 1.6% yield, which marks an increase from its previous dividend of $2.06.

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI raised its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 53.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,156 shares of the aerospace company's stock after buying an additional 4,562 shares during the quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI's holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $6,736,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position 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 valued at $778,336,000 after buying an additional 1,517,425 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Northrop Grumman by 4.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,266,301 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $6,792,479,000 after acquiring an additional 588,520 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised 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 in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 28.5% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,030,644 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $952,962,000 after purchasing an additional 450,858 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 337.1% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 482,112 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $226,250,000 after purchasing an additional 371,814 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Northrop Grumman Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of Northrop Grumman stock traded down $6.09 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $581.29. 749,424 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 876,217. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $522.66 and a 200-day moving average of $497.88. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 12 month low of $426.24 and a 12 month high of $594.68. The company has a market cap of $83.23 billion, a PE ratio of 21.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.57 and a beta of 0.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 1.04.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 22nd. The aerospace company reported $7.11 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $10.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.15 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $6.36 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd were given a dividend of $2.31 per share. This represents a $9.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 2nd. This is a positive change from Northrop Grumman's previous quarterly dividend of $2.06. Northrop Grumman's payout ratio is presently 34.06%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on NOC shares. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Truist Financial reissued a "buy" rating and set a $625.00 price target (up from $550.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $480.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Northrop Grumman from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their price target for the company from $424.00 to $521.00 in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $586.79.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In related news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 7,500 shares of the company'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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 201,602 shares of the company's stock, valued at $101,964,243.54. This represents a 3.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Robert J. Fleming sold 3,500 shares of the company'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 $1,770,195.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 1,827 shares in the company, valued at $924,041.79. This represents a 65.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 16,536 shares of company stock valued at $8,306,857. 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.