Federated Hermes Inc. Has $17.35 Million Position in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC)

Key Points

• Federated Hermes Inc. significantly increased its stake in Northrop Grumman Corporation by 138% during the first quarter, now owning 33,893 shares valued at approximately $17.35 million.
• Northrop Grumman reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings, with $7.11 EPS for the quarter, surpassing analyst estimates and marking a 1.3% revenue increase year-over-year.
• The company recently raised its quarterly dividend to $2.31 per share, reflecting a positive change from the previous dividend and indicating a 1.6% yield.

Federated Hermes Inc. raised its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 138.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 33,893 shares of the aerospace company's stock after purchasing an additional 19,652 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc.'s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $17,354,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 55,522.3% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,520,158 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $778,336,000 after acquiring an additional 1,517,425 shares during the period. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 8,239,434 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $3,866,133,000 after purchasing an additional 461,307 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in 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 worth $952,962,000 after acquiring an additional 450,858 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in 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, Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 24.7% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,733,680 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $813,599,000 after purchasing an additional 343,018 shares during the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Roshan S. Roeder sold 991 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $490.00, for a total value of $485,590.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president 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 hyperlink. Also, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 729 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $505.77, for a total value of $368,706.33. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 7,552 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,819,575.04. This represents a 8.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 16,569 shares of company stock worth $8,323,150 over the last quarter. 0.23% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NOC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a "hold" rating and set a $542.00 price objective (down from $580.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $600.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded Northrop Grumman from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Bank of America upped their target price on Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, 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 report on Friday, April 11th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $586.79.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Shares of Northrop Grumman stock traded up $10.52 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $587.13. 1,006,403 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 778,934. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $511.60 and a 200 day simple moving average of $494.47. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $426.24 and a fifty-two week high of $587.88. The company has a market cap of $84.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.56 and a beta of 0.15. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 22nd. The aerospace company reported $7.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.84 by $0.27. The firm had revenue of $10.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.15 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 9.74% and a return on equity of 25.52%. Northrop Grumman's revenue was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $6.36 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict 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. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd were paid 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 34.06%.

About Northrop Grumman

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.