Invesco Ltd. Boosts Holdings in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC)

Key Points

• Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Northrop Grumman Corporation by 12.1%, owning 1,944,186 shares valued at $995,443,000 after acquiring an additional 210,506 shares.
• Northrop Grumman announced a quarterly dividend increase from $2.06 to $2.31, resulting in an annualized yield of 1.6%.
• The company reported a Q2 EPS of $7.11, surpassing analyst estimates, with a revenue of $10.35 billion for the quarter, showing a 1.3% year-over-year growth.

Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 12.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,944,186 shares of the aerospace company's stock after purchasing an additional 210,506 shares during the quarter. Invesco Ltd. owned approximately 1.35% of Northrop Grumman worth $995,443,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of NOC. IMA Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in Northrop Grumman during the first quarter worth $27,000. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise bought a new position in Northrop Grumman during the first quarter worth $30,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Bellwether Advisors LLC bought a new position in Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Hollencrest Capital Management boosted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 790.0% during the first quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 89 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 7,500 shares of the 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 201,602 shares in the company, valued at $101,964,243.54. This represents a 3.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Robert J. Fleming sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 13th. The shares were 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 owned 1,827 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $924,041.79. This represents a 65.70% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 16,536 shares of company stock worth $8,306,857. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company's stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NOC stock traded up $2.28 on Thursday, hitting $584.37. The stock had a trading volume of 543,299 shares, compared to its average volume of 892,277. The business has a 50 day moving average of $530.19 and a 200 day moving average of $500.13. The stock has a market cap of $83.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.57 and a beta of 0.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.93. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 12-month low of $426.24 and a 12-month high of $594.68.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last announced its 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $6.36 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 1.6%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 2nd. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio is currently 34.06%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on NOC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $480.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. UBS Group cut 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. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $600.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Truist Financial restated a "buy" rating and set a $625.00 price objective (up previously from $550.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $586.79.

Northrop Grumman 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.