Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) Position Raised by Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Key Points

• Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Northrop Grumman by 6.7% during the first quarter, holding a total of 52,528 shares valued at approximately $26.9 million.
• Northrop Grumman declared a quarterly dividend of $2.31 per share, up from the previous $2.06, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 1.6%.
• Analysts have mixed views on the stock with Barclays raising its price target to $580, while Wall Street Zen downgraded it from a "buy" to a "hold" rating.

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 6.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 52,528 shares of the aerospace company's stock after buying an additional 3,313 shares during the period. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $26,896,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of NOC. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 55,522.3% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,520,158 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $778,336,000 after buying an additional 1,517,425 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman in the first quarter valued at approximately $369,205,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 4.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,266,301 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $6,792,479,000 after buying an additional 588,520 shares during the period. Capital International Investors grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 8,239,434 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $3,866,133,000 after acquiring an additional 461,307 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 28.5% in the fourth 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 acquiring an additional 450,858 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company's stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Northrop Grumman stock traded up $2.28 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $584.37. The company's stock had a trading volume of 543,299 shares, compared to its average volume of 892,277. The firm has a market cap of $83.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.54, a PEG ratio of 5.57 and a beta of 0.15. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $530.19 and a 200-day moving average price of $500.13. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a twelve month low of $426.24 and a twelve month high of $594.68.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $10.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.15 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 9.74% and a return on equity of 25.52%. The firm's revenue was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $6.36 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd were issued a $2.31 dividend. This is a boost from Northrop Grumman's previous quarterly dividend of $2.06. 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. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio is presently 34.06%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NOC has been the subject of several recent research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $625.00 price objective (up previously from $550.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $480.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $600.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Ten 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.com, Northrop Grumman presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $586.79.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Roshan S. Roeder sold 991 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the vice president owned 319 shares of the company's stock, valued at $156,310. The trade was a 75.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 729 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $505.77, for a total value of $368,706.33. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 7,552 shares in the company, valued at $3,819,575.04. The trade was a 8.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 16,536 shares of company stock worth $8,306,857. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company's stock.

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.