Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) Shares Purchased by Gries Financial LLC

Gries Financial LLC increased its stake in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 348.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,279 shares of the aerospace company's stock after acquiring an additional 3,324 shares during the quarter. Gries Financial LLC's holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $2,191,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,677,781 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $5,949,556,000 after acquiring an additional 56,807 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 5.9% during the 4th 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 last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted 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 worth $1,954,452,000 after purchasing an additional 23,808 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted 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 worth $1,417,850,000 after purchasing an additional 21,903 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC boosted 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 worth $1,317,402,000 after purchasing an additional 109,308 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company's stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 1.0%

Northrop Grumman stock traded up $5.61 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $574.11. The company had a trading volume of 505,419 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,023,855. The stock has a market cap of $82.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.16, a PEG ratio of 7.41 and a beta of 0.15. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 1 year low of $426.24 and a 1 year high of $576.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. The business has a fifty day moving average of $497.43 and a 200 day moving average of $488.96.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The aerospace company reported $7.11 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.84 by $0.27. The company had revenue of $10.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.15 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 9.74% and a return on equity of 25.52%. The firm's revenue was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $6.36 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd were issued a $2.31 dividend. This is an increase from Northrop Grumman's previous quarterly dividend of $2.06. This represents a $9.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 2nd. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio is presently 34.06%.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In other news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 729 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $505.77, for a total value of $368,706.33. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly 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 this hyperlink. Also, VP Roshan S. Roeder sold 991 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the vice president directly owned 319 shares of the company's stock, valued at $156,310. The trade was a 75.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 16,569 shares of company stock valued at $8,323,150 over the last ninety days. 0.23% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on NOC shares. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $583.00 to $571.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $424.00 to $521.00 in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $547.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted 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. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $576.67.

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.