Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 1,613 Shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC)

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its position in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 1.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 162,838 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 1,613 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.11% of Northrop Grumman worth $83,375,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of NOC. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in Northrop Grumman by 176.3% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 2,970 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,394,000 after acquiring an additional 1,895 shares during the period. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG increased its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 1,006 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $472,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 8.9% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 11,384 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $5,342,000 after buying an additional 929 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 81.8% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 89,439 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $41,973,000 after buying an additional 40,247 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 7.2% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 17,849 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $8,376,000 after buying an additional 1,202 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company's stock.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 0.9%

NYSE NOC traded up $4.50 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $503.40. The company's stock had a trading volume of 381,831 shares, compared to its average volume of 881,784. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $486.97 and a 200 day moving average of $484.24. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a twelve month low of $422.69 and a twelve month high of $555.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.87, a PEG ratio of 5.51 and a beta of 0.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95.

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 the consensus estimate of $6.33 by ($0.27). Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 9.19% and a return on equity of 25.46%. The business had revenue of $9.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.07 billion. Equities research analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $505.77, for a total transaction of $3,793,275.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 201,602 shares of the company's stock, valued at $101,964,243.54. This represents a 3.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Robert J. Fleming sold 3,500 shares of the 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 sale, the vice president directly owned 1,827 shares of the company's stock, valued at $924,041.79. This represents a 65.70% 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 valued at $8,322,279. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on NOC. Truist Financial decreased 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 note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $580.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. UBS Group cut 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 report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Northrop Grumman from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Susquehanna lowered their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $557.00 to $540.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Seven research 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 company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $552.54.

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.