Penserra Capital Management LLC Purchases 42,733 Shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC)

Penserra Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 18.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 271,261 shares of the aerospace company's stock after acquiring an additional 42,733 shares during the period. Northrop Grumman accounts for 2.5% of Penserra Capital Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Penserra Capital Management LLC owned 0.19% of Northrop Grumman worth $138,886,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. GAM Holding AG raised its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 51.9% in the 1st quarter. GAM Holding AG now owns 2,338 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,197,000 after purchasing an additional 799 shares during the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group raised its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 12.8% in the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 8,857 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $4,132,000 after buying an additional 1,008 shares during the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management lifted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 121.0% during the first quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 6,640 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $3,400,000 after buying an additional 3,635 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,025,263 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,417,850,000 after buying an additional 21,903 shares during the period. Finally, RFG Bristol Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter valued at $284,000. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Truist Financial dropped their target price on Northrop Grumman from $600.00 to $550.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $583.00 to $571.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $424.00 to $521.00 in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $575.00 to $550.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $525.00 price target on Northrop Grumman and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Seven 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $552.54.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In related news, VP Roshan S. Roeder sold 991 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $490.00, for a total value of $485,590.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 319 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $156,310. This represents a 75.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 7,500 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 201,602 shares in the company, valued at approximately $101,964,243.54. The trade was a 3.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 16,536 shares of company stock valued at $8,306,430 over the last ninety days. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

NOC stock traded up $3.76 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $507.96. 653,397 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 880,872. 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 12-month low of $422.69 and a 12-month high of $555.57. The stock's 50 day moving average is $486.97 and its 200 day moving average is $484.36. The company has a market cap of $73.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.51 and a beta of 0.15.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The aerospace company reported $6.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $6.33 by ($0.27). The company 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, research analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd were issued a dividend of $2.31 per share. This is a positive change from Northrop Grumman's previous quarterly dividend of $2.06. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $9.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.82%. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio is presently 36.46%.

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.