Financial Counselors Inc. Grows Stake in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC)

Financial Counselors Inc. increased its position in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 4.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 72,157 shares of the aerospace company's stock after buying an additional 3,007 shares during the period. Financial Counselors Inc. owned about 0.05% of Northrop Grumman worth $36,945,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 176.3% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 2,970 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,394,000 after acquiring an additional 1,895 shares during the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG increased its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 1,006 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $472,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Northrop Grumman by 81.8% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 89,439 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $41,973,000 after buying an additional 40,247 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter valued at about $201,000. Finally, Callan Family Office LLC acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter valued at about $618,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company's stock.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 1.3%

Northrop Grumman stock traded up $6.41 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $514.35. The company had a trading volume of 623,928 shares, compared to its average volume of 878,414. The firm has a market cap of $74.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.30, a P/E/G ratio of 5.52 and a beta of 0.15. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $488.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $484.93. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 12-month low of $422.69 and a 12-month high of $555.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.84.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The aerospace company reported $6.06 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $6.33 by ($0.27). Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 25.46% and a net margin of 9.19%. The company had revenue of $9.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.07 billion. Equities analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd were issued a dividend of $2.31 per share. This is an increase from Northrop Grumman's previous quarterly dividend of $2.06. This represents a $9.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 2nd. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio is presently 36.46%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NOC has been the subject of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company set a $525.00 price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $583.00 to $571.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $575.00 to $550.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Truist Financial dropped their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $600.00 to $550.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Northrop Grumman from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $550.00.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 729 shares of the 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 transaction, the vice president owned 7,552 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,819,575.04. This represents a 8.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $505.77, for a total value of $3,793,275.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 201,602 shares in the company, 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 in the last ninety days. 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.