Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. Raises Position in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC)

Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 944.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 114,909 shares of the aerospace company's stock after purchasing an additional 103,909 shares during the period. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. owned 0.08% of Northrop Grumman worth $58,835,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of NOC. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 644 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $330,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Salvus Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Northrop Grumman by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Salvus Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,349 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $691,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. IAG Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 8.4% in the first quarter. IAG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 271 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $139,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG lifted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 1,006 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $472,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Keel Point LLC boosted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Keel Point LLC now owns 1,069 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $502,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company's stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 0.9%

Northrop Grumman stock traded up $4.50 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $503.40. 381,831 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 880,004. 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 quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.95. The company has a market cap of $72.45 billion, a PE ratio of 19.87, a P/E/G ratio of 5.51 and a beta of 0.15. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $486.37 and a two-hundred day moving average of $483.97.

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

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd were issued a $2.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 2nd. 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 1.84%. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.46%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NOC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Truist Financial decreased their price target on Northrop Grumman from $600.00 to $550.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Northrop Grumman from $580.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Northrop Grumman from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $525.00 price target on shares of Northrop Grumman and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $575.00 to $550.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $552.54.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Robert J. Fleming sold 3,500 shares of the company's 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 completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 1,827 shares in the company, valued at $924,041.79. This represents a 65.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 7,500 shares of Northrop Grumman 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 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. In the last quarter, insiders sold 16,569 shares of company stock valued at $8,322,279. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.