LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI Increases Stock Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 2.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 33,248 shares of the aerospace company's stock after buying an additional 646 shares during the period. Northrop Grumman makes up about 1.9% of LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI's holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI's holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $17,023,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of NOC. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 19.9% in the 4th quarter. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. now owns 16,660 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $7,818,000 after purchasing an additional 2,770 shares during the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 12.8% in the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 8,857 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $4,132,000 after acquiring an additional 1,008 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,025,263 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,417,850,000 after purchasing an additional 21,903 shares in the last quarter. RFG Bristol Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter worth approximately $284,000. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 74.4% during the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 156,149 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $73,279,000 after buying an additional 66,638 shares during the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

NOC traded up $6.48 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $494.70. 366,819 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 890,945. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.20 billion, a PE ratio of 17.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The company's 50-day moving average is $492.40 and its 200 day moving average is $482.40. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52 week low of $418.60 and a 52 week high of $555.57.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The aerospace company reported $6.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $6.33 by ($0.27). Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.24% and a net margin of 10.17%. The firm had revenue of $9.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.07 billion. On average, research analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be paid a dividend of $2.31 per share. This represents a $9.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.87%. This is a positive change from Northrop Grumman's previous quarterly dividend of $2.06. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. Northrop Grumman's payout ratio is presently 36.46%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $475.65, for a total transaction of $1,783,687.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 212,852 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $101,243,053.80. This trade represents a 1.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders sold 3,816 shares of company stock valued at $1,815,830 over the last three months. 0.23% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NOC has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $583.00 to $571.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $600.00 to $550.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on Northrop Grumman from $575.00 to $550.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $525.00 target price on Northrop Grumman and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $545.31.

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.