Koss Olinger Consulting LLC Takes $1.03 Million Position in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC)

Key Points

• Koss Olinger Consulting LLC acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman Corporation, purchasing 2,011 shares valued at approximately $1.03 million.
• Multiple hedge funds significantly increased their holdings in Northrop Grumman, with Federated Hermes Inc. boosting its stake by 519.7% in the fourth quarter.
• Northrop Grumman has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with a consensus price target of $586.79, reflecting strong analyst interest.

Koss Olinger Consulting LLC acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 2,011 shares of the aerospace company's stock, valued at approximately $1,030,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in NOC. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Northrop Grumman by 55,522.3% during the first 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 period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,266,301 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $6,792,479,000 after buying an additional 588,520 shares during the period. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 8,239,434 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $3,866,133,000 after purchasing an additional 461,307 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in Northrop Grumman by 28.5% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,030,644 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $952,962,000 after buying an additional 450,858 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 337.1% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 482,112 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $226,250,000 after purchasing an additional 371,814 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Roshan S. Roeder sold 991 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $490.00, for a total transaction of $485,590.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 319 shares in the company, valued at $156,310. This trade represents a 75.65% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 7,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $505.77, for a total value of $3,793,275.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 201,602 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 90 days, insiders sold 16,536 shares of company stock valued at $8,306,857. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of NOC traded up $0.54 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $580.78. The company's stock had a trading volume of 643,833 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,006,372. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 1-year low of $426.24 and a 1-year high of $594.68. The stock has a market cap of $83.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.41, a PEG ratio of 5.51 and a beta of 0.15. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $524.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $498.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 25.52% and a net margin of 9.74%. The company had revenue of $10.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.15 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $6.36 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, 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 company also recently declared 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. This represents a $9.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 2nd. This is an increase from Northrop Grumman's previous quarterly dividend of $2.06. Northrop Grumman's payout ratio is 34.06%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on NOC. UBS Group cut their price target on 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 price target on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Monday, July 14th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $547.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "hold" rating and set a $542.00 price objective (down from $580.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average 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.