Fox Hill Wealth Management Raises Stock Holdings in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC)

Key Points

• Fox Hill Wealth Management increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 9.5% during the first quarter, now owning 5,673 shares valued at approximately $2.91 million.
• Northrop Grumman recently reported quarterly earnings of $7.11 per share, exceeding estimates, and reported a revenue of $10.35 billion for the quarter.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $2.31 per share, reflecting an increase from the previous dividend and a 1.6% dividend yield.

Fox Hill Wealth Management boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 9.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,673 shares of the aerospace company's stock after acquiring an additional 491 shares during the period. Northrop Grumman accounts for 1.7% of Fox Hill Wealth Management's portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Fox Hill Wealth Management's holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $2,905,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its stake in Northrop Grumman by 19.1% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 278,567 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $142,630,000 after acquiring an additional 44,685 shares in the last quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Northrop Grumman by 6.7% during the first quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 52,528 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $26,896,000 after purchasing an additional 3,313 shares during the last quarter. Westpac Banking Corp bought a new position in Northrop Grumman during the first quarter valued at $2,322,000. Rossmore Private Capital lifted its position in Northrop Grumman by 12.8% during the first quarter. Rossmore Private Capital now owns 712 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $364,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Meridian Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Northrop Grumman by 2.7% during the first quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,930 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $4,060,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Robert J. Fleming sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the vice president owned 1,827 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $924,041.79. This trade represents a 65.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 201,602 shares in the company, valued at $101,964,243.54. This trade represents a 3.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 16,536 shares of company stock worth $8,306,857 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.23% of the company's stock.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of NOC stock traded up $2.28 on Thursday, reaching $584.37. 543,299 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 892,277. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 52 week low of $426.24 and a 52 week high of $594.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $83.67 billion, a PE ratio of 21.54, a P/E/G ratio of 5.57 and a beta of 0.15. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $530.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $500.13.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last released 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. The company had revenue of $10.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.15 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 25.52% and a net margin of 9.74%. Northrop Grumman's quarterly revenue was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $6.36 EPS. As a group, 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 is a boost from Northrop Grumman's previous quarterly dividend of $2.06. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $9.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. Northrop Grumman's payout ratio is 34.06%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $480.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $600.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Truist Financial reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $625.00 price objective (up from $550.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Susquehanna raised their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $557.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $586.79.

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.