Prudential PLC Sells 445 Shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC)

Key Points

• Prudential PLC has decreased its stake in Northrop Grumman Corporation by 4.1%, resulting in ownership of 10,310 shares valued at $5,279,000.
• Several research firms have raised their price objectives for Northrop Grumman, with estimates now ranging from $625.00 to $650.00.
• Northrop Grumman recently increased its quarterly dividend to $2.31 per share, representing a 1.6% yield and a payout ratio of 34.06%.

Prudential PLC reduced its position in shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 4.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,310 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 445 shares during the quarter. Prudential PLC's holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $5,279,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 729 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction on Friday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $505.77, for a total transaction of $368,706.33. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 7,552 shares in the company, valued at $3,819,575.04. The trade was a 8.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Robert J. Fleming sold 3,500 shares of Northrop Grumman 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 sale, the vice president owned 1,827 shares in the company, valued at $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. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 16,536 shares of company stock valued at $8,306,857. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on NOC. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $600.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $547.00 to $565.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Truist Financial restated a "buy" rating and set a $625.00 price target (up previously from $550.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $480.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Susquehanna lifted their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $557.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Ten 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $586.79.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 0.1%

NOC traded up $0.30 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $584.02. 667,324 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 888,391. The stock has a market capitalization of $83.62 billion, a PE ratio of 21.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.59 and a beta of 0.15. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 1 year low of $426.24 and a 1 year high of $594.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 1.04. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $532.08 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $500.80.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The aerospace company reported $7.11 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $6.84 by $0.27. The company had revenue of $10.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 previous year, the business posted $6.36 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate 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 paid a dividend of $2.31 per share. This represents a $9.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 2nd. This is a positive change from Northrop Grumman's previous quarterly dividend of $2.06. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.06%.

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.