Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) Position Lessened by Jefferies Financial Group Inc.

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group Inc. significantly reduced its stake in Northrop Grumman by 87.5%, leaving it with only 3,643 shares worth approximately $1.87 million.
• Other institutional investors, such as GAMMA Investing LLC and Capital International Investors, have increased their holdings, with GAMMA's position up by a staggering 55,522.3%.
• Northrop Grumman's recent earnings report showed an EPS of $7.11, surpassing estimates, while the company also raised its dividend to $2.31 per share.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 87.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,643 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 25,399 shares during the quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $1,865,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. BCGM Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.8% during the first quarter. BCGM Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,611 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $3,385,000 after buying an additional 119 shares during the period. MGO One Seven LLC increased its stake in Northrop Grumman by 8.3% during the 1st quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 5,037 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $2,579,000 after purchasing an additional 386 shares in the last quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 2.0% during the first quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 1,866 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $956,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the period. Davis R M Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.5% during the first quarter. Davis R M Inc. now owns 65,079 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $33,321,000 after buying an additional 314 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Foster & Motley Inc. increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 230.8% in the 1st quarter. Foster & Motley Inc. now owns 9,711 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $4,972,000 after acquiring an additional 6,775 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on NOC. Barclays raised their price objective on 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 price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $600.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $547.00 to $565.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "hold" rating and issued a $542.00 target price (down previously from $580.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Truist Financial reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $625.00 price target (up from $550.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Ten 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $586.79.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Shares of Northrop Grumman stock traded down $0.52 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $589.43. The company's stock had a trading volume of 992,203 shares, compared to its average volume of 856,912. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $516.28 and a 200-day moving average price of $495.98. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 12-month low of $426.24 and a 12-month high of $594.68. The company has a market capitalization of $84.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.59 and a beta of 0.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The aerospace company reported $7.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $6.84 by $0.27. The company had revenue of $10.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.15 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 9.74% and a return on equity of 25.52%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $6.36 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd were issued a $2.31 dividend. This is a positive change from Northrop Grumman's previous quarterly dividend of $2.06. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $9.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. Northrop Grumman's payout ratio is currently 34.06%.

Insider Activity

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Robert J. Fleming sold 3,500 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction on Friday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $505.77, for a total value of $1,770,195.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 1,827 shares in the company, valued at $924,041.79. This trade represents a 65.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 729 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $505.77, for a total value of $368,706.33. Following the sale, the vice president owned 7,552 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,819,575.04. The trade was a 8.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 16,536 shares of company stock valued at $8,306,857 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company's stock.

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.