Savvy Advisors Inc. Takes $251,000 Position in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC)

Key Points

• Savvy Advisors Inc. purchased 491 shares of Northrop Grumman valued at approximately $251,000 in the first quarter, reflecting ongoing interest from institutional investors in the company.
• Recent insider activity included VP Robert J. Fleming selling 3,500 shares at an average price of $505.77, resulting in a significant decrease of 65.70% in his ownership position.
• Analyst ratings show a consensus of Moderate Buy for Northrop Grumman, with an average target price of $586.79, indicating potential growth despite some recent adjustments in price objectives by various firms.

Savvy Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 491 shares of the aerospace company's stock, valued at approximately $251,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 3.0% in the first quarter. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 644 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $330,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Salvus Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.5% in the first quarter. Salvus Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,349 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $691,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. IAG Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 8.4% in the first quarter. IAG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 271 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $139,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 3.9% in the first quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC now owns 553 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $283,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG boosted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 1,006 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $472,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on NOC shares. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Truist Financial reissued a "buy" rating and set a $625.00 price objective (up previously from $550.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "hold" rating and set a $542.00 price objective (down previously from $580.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $586.79.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 0.4%

NYSE:NOC traded up $2.28 on Thursday, hitting $584.37. 447,673 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,000,612. The stock has a market capitalization of $83.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.54, a P/E/G ratio of 5.50 and a beta of 0.15. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 52 week low of $426.24 and a 52 week 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's 50-day moving average price is $528.25 and its 200 day moving average price is $499.57.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $6.84 by $0.27. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 25.52% and a net margin of 9.74%. The firm had revenue of $10.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.15 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $6.36 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd were given a dividend of $2.31 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $9.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. This is an increase from Northrop Grumman's previous quarterly dividend of $2.06. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio is currently 34.06%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Roshan S. Roeder sold 991 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $490.00, for a total transaction of $485,590.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 319 shares in the company, valued at $156,310. This trade represents a 75.65% 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 firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owned 1,827 shares of the company's stock, valued at $924,041.79. This represents a 65.70% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 16,536 shares of company stock valued at $8,306,857 in the last quarter. Corporate 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.