Blackhawk Capital Partners LLC. Boosts Stock Position in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC)

Blackhawk Capital Partners LLC. grew its position in shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 35.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,451 shares of the aerospace company's stock after acquiring an additional 643 shares during the quarter. Blackhawk Capital Partners LLC.'s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $1,255,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of NOC. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Northrop Grumman by 55,522.3% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,520,158 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $778,336,000 after buying an additional 1,517,425 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its position in Northrop Grumman by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 8,239,434 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $3,866,133,000 after buying an additional 461,307 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted 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 worth $952,962,000 after buying an additional 450,858 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position 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 buying an additional 371,814 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Northrop Grumman by 24.7% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,733,680 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $813,599,000 after buying an additional 343,018 shares during the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In other news, VP Robert J. Fleming sold 3,500 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 transaction of $1,770,195.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 1,827 shares in the company, valued at approximately $924,041.79. This trade represents a 65.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 7,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 201,602 shares in the company, valued at approximately $101,964,243.54. This represents a 3.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 16,569 shares of company stock worth $8,323,150. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company's stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of Northrop Grumman stock traded down $3.16 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $504.76. 669,551 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 880,030. The firm has a market cap of $72.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.51 and a beta of 0.15. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 52-week low of $422.69 and a 52-week high of $555.57. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $487.45 and its 200 day simple moving average is $484.63.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The aerospace company reported $6.06 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $6.33 by ($0.27). The firm had revenue of $9.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.07 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 9.19% and a return on equity of 25.46%. On average, equities analysts predict 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd were paid a dividend of $2.31 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $9.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.83%. This is a positive change from Northrop Grumman's previous quarterly dividend of $2.06. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.46%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NOC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded Northrop Grumman from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Northrop Grumman from $583.00 to $571.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Truist Financial lowered 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. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Northrop Grumman from $580.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on Northrop Grumman from $575.00 to $550.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $550.00.

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.