Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) Stock Holdings Trimmed by HighTower Advisors LLC

Key Points

• HighTower Advisors LLC has reduced its holdings in Northrop Grumman Corporation by 0.7%, owning 81,098 shares worth approximately $41.52 million as of the end of the first quarter.
• Northrop Grumman reported earnings of $7.11 per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' estimates, with a revenue of $10.35 billion, reflecting a 1.3% increase year-over-year.
• The company declared an increase in its quarterly dividend to $2.31 per share, yielding 1.6%, up from the previous dividend of $2.06.

HighTower Advisors LLC reduced its position in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 0.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 81,098 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 544 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Northrop Grumman worth $41,523,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 3.0% in the first quarter. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 644 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $330,000 after buying an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Salvus Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 1.5% in the first quarter. Salvus Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,349 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $691,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. IAG Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 8.4% in the first quarter. IAG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 271 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $139,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 3.9% in the first quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC now owns 553 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $283,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 1,006 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $472,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of NOC stock opened at $581.86 on Thursday. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 12-month low of $426.24 and a 12-month high of $594.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $83.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.50 and a beta of 0.15. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $528.25 and a 200 day simple moving average of $499.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.93.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 22nd. The aerospace company reported $7.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $6.84 by $0.27. The business had revenue of $10.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.15 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 25.52% and a net margin of 9.74%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $6.36 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd were paid a dividend of $2.31 per share. 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. This is an increase from Northrop Grumman's previous quarterly dividend of $2.06. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio is 34.06%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen lowered Northrop Grumman from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Bank of America upped their target price on Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $542.00 target price (down from $580.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $625.00 target price (up from $550.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Northrop Grumman from $600.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Ten research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $586.79.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Roshan S. Roeder sold 991 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $490.00, for a total transaction of $485,590.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 319 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $156,310. This trade represents a 75.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Robert J. Fleming sold 3,500 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 value of $1,770,195.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 1,827 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $924,041.79. The trade was a 65.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 16,536 shares of company stock valued at $8,306,857. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company's stock.

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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