Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) Shares Bought by Commonwealth Equity Services LLC

Key Points

• Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its stake in Northrop Grumman by 1.9%, now holding **83,938 shares** valued at approximately **$42.98 million**.
• Wall Street analysts have raised their target prices for Northrop Grumman, with **Morgan Stanley** setting the highest at **$625.00**, reflecting increased confidence in the company's growth potential.
• Northrop Grumman has declared a **quarterly dividend** of **$2.31**, up from a previous **$2.06**, which indicates a commitment to returning value to shareholders.

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its stake in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 1.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 83,938 shares of the aerospace company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,561 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Northrop Grumman worth $42,977,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. IMA Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the first quarter worth $27,000. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the first quarter worth $30,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Bellwether Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Hollencrest Capital Management increased its stake in Northrop Grumman by 790.0% in the first quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 89 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NOC has been the subject of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Northrop Grumman from $580.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Northrop Grumman from $480.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Truist Financial reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $625.00 target price (up from $550.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Northrop Grumman from $547.00 to $565.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Northrop Grumman from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their target price for the company from $424.00 to $521.00 in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $586.79.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 729 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 13th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,819,575.04. This represents a 8.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 201,602 shares of the company's stock, valued at $101,964,243.54. This represents a 3.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 16,536 shares of company stock worth $8,306,857. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company's stock.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NOC opened at $590.50 on Tuesday. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 1-year low of $426.24 and a 1-year high of $592.16. The business has a 50-day moving average of $513.99 and a 200-day moving average of $495.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The company has a market capitalization of $84.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.77, a PEG ratio of 5.56 and a beta of 0.15.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The aerospace company reported $7.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $10.15 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $6.36 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 an increase from Northrop Grumman's previous quarterly dividend of $2.06. This represents a $9.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 2nd. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.06%.

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.

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