Good Life Advisors LLC Boosts Stock Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Good Life Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 70.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,493 shares of the aerospace company's stock after buying an additional 1,850 shares during the period. Good Life Advisors LLC's holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $2,300,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,677,781 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $5,949,556,000 after buying an additional 56,807 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 8,239,434 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $3,866,133,000 after buying an additional 461,307 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Northrop Grumman by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,164,700 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,954,452,000 after purchasing an additional 23,808 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Northrop Grumman by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,025,263 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,417,850,000 after purchasing an additional 21,903 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC raised its stake in Northrop Grumman by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,807,223 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,317,402,000 after purchasing an additional 109,308 shares during the period. 83.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 4.0%

NOC opened at $517.22 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $74.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.25, a PEG ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12 month low of $422.19 and a 12 month high of $555.57. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $490.98 and a 200-day moving average price of $482.53.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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). The company had revenue of $9.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.07 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.24% and a net margin of 10.17%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd will be given a dividend of $2.31 per share. This is a positive change from Northrop Grumman's previous quarterly dividend of $2.06. This represents a $9.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio is currently 36.46%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on NOC shares. UBS Group decreased their target price on Northrop Grumman from $583.00 to $571.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded Northrop Grumman from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Argus raised Northrop Grumman to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on Northrop Grumman from $575.00 to $550.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their target price on Northrop Grumman from $600.00 to $550.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $545.31.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In related news, VP Roshan S. Roeder sold 991 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $490.00, for a total transaction of $485,590.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 319 shares of the company's stock, valued at $156,310. This represents a 75.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $495.00, for a total value of $1,856,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 209,102 shares in the company, valued at $103,505,490. This represents a 1.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 12,340 shares of company stock valued at $6,183,378 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company's stock.

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.

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