Crestwood Advisors Group LLC Increases Holdings in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC)

Crestwood Advisors Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 220.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,652 shares of the aerospace company's stock after buying an additional 1,825 shares during the period. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC's holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $1,358,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Bellwether Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Hollencrest Capital Management grew its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 790.0% in the 1st quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 89 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. HWG Holdings LP bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 1st quarter worth approximately $46,000. Finally, Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 1st quarter worth approximately $47,000. 83.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Truist Financial cut their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $600.00 to $550.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a "hold" rating and issued a $542.00 target price (down previously from $580.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Northrop Grumman from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their target price for the company from $424.00 to $521.00 in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Tuesday. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $550.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Robert J. Fleming sold 3,500 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 $1,770,195.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 1,827 shares of the company's stock, valued at $924,041.79. This trade represents a 65.70% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 7,500 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 $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. This represents a 3.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 16,569 shares of company stock worth $8,323,150 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.23% of the company's stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

NYSE:NOC opened at $563.51 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $492.64 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $487.55. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 52-week low of $426.24 and a 52-week high of $567.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $81.11 billion, a PE ratio of 22.24, a P/E/G ratio of 6.12 and a beta of 0.15.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 22nd. The aerospace company reported $8.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $6.84 by $1.31. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 25.46% and a net margin of 9.19%. The firm had revenue of $10.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.15 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $6.36 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 1.64%. 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. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.

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