Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) Shares Purchased by VELA Investment Management LLC

VELA Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 23.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,915 shares of the aerospace company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,512 shares during the period. Northrop Grumman accounts for 1.3% of VELA Investment Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 20th largest position. VELA Investment Management LLC's holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $4,053,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Northrop Grumman by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,677,781 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $5,949,556,000 after acquiring an additional 56,807 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 8,239,434 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $3,866,133,000 after acquiring an additional 461,307 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,164,700 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,954,452,000 after purchasing an additional 23,808 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 21,903 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,807,223 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,317,402,000 after buying an additional 109,308 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In related news, 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 transaction, the vice president directly owned 7,552 shares in the company, valued at $3,819,575.04. This trade represents a 8.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction of $1,770,195.00. Following the completion of 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 16,569 shares of company stock worth $8,322,279 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company's stock.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of NOC traded up $4.50 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $503.40. The stock had a trading volume of 381,831 shares, compared to its average volume of 881,784. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.84. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 52-week low of $422.69 and a 52-week high of $555.57. The business's fifty day moving average is $486.97 and its 200 day moving average is $484.24. The firm has a market cap of $72.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.87, a P/E/G ratio of 5.51 and a beta of 0.15.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). The business had revenue of $9.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.07 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 9.19% and a return on equity of 25.46%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd were issued a $2.31 dividend. This is a boost from Northrop Grumman's previous quarterly dividend of $2.06. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $9.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.84%. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.46%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NOC has been the topic of several research reports. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $583.00 to $571.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $557.00 to $540.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $580.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $600.00 to $550.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $424.00 to $521.00 in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $552.54.

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.