Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC Trims Stock Position in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC)

Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC lessened its stake in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 5.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,656 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 526 shares during the period. Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC's holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $4,432,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of NOC. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Bellwether Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 291.7% in the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 94 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the period. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the first quarter worth approximately $46,000. Finally, VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter worth approximately $47,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 729 shares of the company'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 $368,706.33. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 7,552 shares in the company, valued at $3,819,575.04. This represents a 8.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Robert J. Fleming sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 1,827 shares in the company, valued at $924,041.79. This trade represents a 65.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 three months. Insiders own 0.23% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on NOC. Wall Street Zen cut Northrop Grumman from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. 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 report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on Northrop Grumman from $575.00 to $550.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Northrop Grumman from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $424.00 to $521.00 in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Northrop Grumman from $580.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $550.00.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

NOC traded down $3.56 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $504.36. 134,595 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 877,958. The business's 50 day moving average price is $487.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $484.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The company has a market capitalization of $72.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.90, a P/E/G ratio of 5.51 and a beta of 0.15. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 1 year low of $422.69 and a 1 year high of $555.57.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.07 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 25.46% and a net margin of 9.19%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd were given a $2.31 dividend. This is an increase from Northrop Grumman's previous quarterly dividend of $2.06. This represents a $9.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.83%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 2nd. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.