IFP Advisors Inc Buys 1,598 Shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC)

IFP Advisors Inc increased its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 29.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,960 shares of the aerospace company's stock after buying an additional 1,598 shares during the quarter. IFP Advisors Inc's holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $3,566,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 55,522.3% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,520,158 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $778,336,000 after acquiring an additional 1,517,425 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its position 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 acquiring an additional 461,307 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 28.5% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,030,644 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $952,962,000 after acquiring an additional 450,858 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 337.1% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 482,112 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $226,250,000 after acquiring an additional 371,814 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 24.7% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,733,680 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $813,599,000 after acquiring an additional 343,018 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Robert J. Fleming sold 3,500 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $924,041.79. This trade represents a 65.70% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, 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 sale, the vice president directly owned 7,552 shares in the company, valued at $3,819,575.04. This represents a 8.80% decrease in their position. 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 90 days. 0.23% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on NOC shares. Truist Financial decreased their price target on Northrop Grumman from $600.00 to $550.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company set a $525.00 price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Northrop Grumman from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $575.00 to $550.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a "hold" rating and issued a $542.00 price objective (down previously from $580.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $550.00.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

NYSE NOC opened at $518.83 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $74.68 billion, a PE ratio of 20.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.17 and a beta of 0.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 12-month low of $426.24 and a 12-month high of $555.57. The firm's 50 day moving average is $492.64 and its 200-day moving average is $487.55.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 analyst estimates of $10.07 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 9.19% and a return on equity of 25.46%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Corporation 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 was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd were issued a dividend of $2.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 2nd. This is a positive change 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 1.78%. Northrop Grumman's payout ratio is presently 36.46%.

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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