Sei Investments Co. Grows Holdings in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC)

Key Points

• Sei Investments Co. increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 2.9% during the first quarter, owning a total of 67,086 shares valued at approximately $32.4 million.
• Insiders sold a combined total of 16,536 shares in the last ninety days, with significant sales by VP Robert J. Fleming and VP Roshan S. Roeder, representing large decreases in their stock ownership.
• Northrop Grumman reported earnings per share of $7.11 for the last quarter, exceeding analyst expectations, and announced an increase in its quarterly dividend from $2.06 to $2.31 a share.

Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 2.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 67,086 shares of the aerospace company's stock after buying an additional 1,892 shares during the quarter. Sei Investments Co.'s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $32,442,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of NOC. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 176.3% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 2,970 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,394,000 after buying an additional 1,895 shares during the period. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG grew its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 1,006 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $472,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 5,530 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $2,595,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the period. Mariner LLC grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 39,319 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $18,452,000 after purchasing an additional 218 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CreativeOne Wealth LLC grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 7.7% during the 4th quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 3,106 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,457,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares during the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In related news, VP Robert J. Fleming sold 3,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 13th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $924,041.79. This trade represents a 65.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Roshan S. Roeder sold 991 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 approximately $156,310. The trade was a 75.65% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 16,536 shares of company stock worth $8,306,857. 0.23% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on NOC. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "hold" rating and set a $542.00 price objective (down from $580.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $547.00 to $565.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Susquehanna increased their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $557.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. 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 equities 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $586.79.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NOC opened at $581.86 on Thursday. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $528.25 and its 200-day moving average price is $499.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. The company has a market cap of $83.31 billion, a PE ratio of 21.45, a PEG 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.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 22nd. The aerospace company reported $7.11 earnings per share (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 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $6.36 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 EPS 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 issued a $2.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 2nd. This is a positive change from Northrop Grumman's previous quarterly dividend of $2.06. This represents a $9.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Northrop Grumman's payout ratio is 34.06%.

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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