Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC)

Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC raised its position in shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 99.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 25,091 shares of the aerospace company's stock after purchasing an additional 12,520 shares during the quarter. Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC's holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $12,847,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 12.7% in the 1st quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,447 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $741,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. FSM Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 9.3% during the 1st quarter. FSM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 936 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $479,000 after buying an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Meadow Creek Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 12.5% during the 1st quarter. Meadow Creek Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 530 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $271,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC grew its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 4.4% in the first quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 4,423 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $2,264,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd increased its position in Northrop Grumman by 6.1% in the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 17,881 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $9,155,000 after purchasing an additional 1,034 shares during the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on NOC. Truist Financial dropped their price target 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. Wells Fargo & Company set a $525.00 target price on Northrop Grumman and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Northrop Grumman from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their price target for the company from $424.00 to $521.00 in a report on Friday, April 11th. Susquehanna cut their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $557.00 to $540.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $583.00 to $571.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Seven 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 company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $552.54.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In related news, VP Roshan S. Roeder sold 991 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $490.00, for a total transaction of $485,590.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 319 shares of the company's stock, valued at $156,310. This trade represents a 75.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 729 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 $368,706.33. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 7,552 shares in the company, valued at $3,819,575.04. This represents a 8.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 16,569 shares of company stock worth $8,322,279. 0.23% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Northrop Grumman Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of Northrop Grumman stock traded down $4.74 on Wednesday, hitting $498.79. 817,393 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 878,196. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The company has a market cap of $71.79 billion, a PE ratio of 19.68, a PEG ratio of 5.46 and a beta of 0.15. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $485.05 and its 200-day moving average price is $483.72. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 52 week low of $422.69 and a 52 week high of $555.57.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The aerospace company reported $6.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $6.33 by ($0.27). Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 9.19% and a return on equity of 25.46%. The firm had revenue of $9.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.07 billion. Equities research analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd were given a dividend of $2.31 per share. This is an increase 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 1.85%. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.46%.

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.