Perpetual Ltd Purchases 4,535 Shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC)

Perpetual Ltd boosted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 983.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,996 shares of the aerospace company's stock after acquiring an additional 4,535 shares during the period. Perpetual Ltd's holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $2,558,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 55,522.3% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,520,158 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $778,336,000 after purchasing an additional 1,517,425 shares during the period. Capital International Investors grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 8,239,434 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $3,866,133,000 after purchasing an additional 461,307 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 28.5% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,030,644 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $952,962,000 after purchasing an additional 450,858 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 337.1% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 482,112 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $226,250,000 after purchasing an additional 371,814 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $171,580,000. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company set a $525.00 price objective on Northrop Grumman and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $580.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Susquehanna lowered their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $557.00 to $540.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $575.00 to $550.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Northrop Grumman from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $552.54.

Insider Activity

In other news, 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 value of $1,770,195.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,827 shares of the company's stock, valued at $924,041.79. This represents a 65.70% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 7,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $505.77, for a total value of $3,793,275.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 201,602 shares in the company, valued at $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 a total of 16,569 shares of company stock valued at $8,322,279 in the last 90 days. 0.23% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NOC opened at $494.45 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.51, a PEG ratio of 5.39 and a beta of 0.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.95. The business's fifty day moving average price is $484.86 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $483.37. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 52 week low of $422.69 and a 52 week high of $555.57.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The aerospace company reported $6.06 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $6.33 by ($0.27). The firm had revenue of $9.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.07 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 9.19% and a return on equity of 25.46%. On average, analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd were paid a $2.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $9.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.87%. This is an increase from Northrop Grumman's previous quarterly dividend of $2.06. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio is 36.46%.

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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