Simon Quick Advisors LLC Raises Holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Simon Quick Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 55.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,623 shares of the aerospace company's stock after buying an additional 582 shares during the period. Simon Quick Advisors LLC's holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $831,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of NOC. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,677,781 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $5,949,556,000 after acquiring an additional 56,807 shares during the period. Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 8,239,434 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $3,866,133,000 after acquiring an additional 461,307 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,164,700 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,954,452,000 after acquiring an additional 23,808 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,025,263 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,417,850,000 after acquiring an additional 21,903 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,807,223 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,317,402,000 after acquiring an additional 109,308 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Roshan S. Roeder sold 991 shares of the business'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 now directly owns 319 shares in the company, valued at $156,310. The trade was a 75.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 7,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $505.77, for a total value of $3,793,275.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 201,602 shares of the company's stock, valued at $101,964,243.54. The trade was a 3.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 12,340 shares of company stock worth $6,183,378 over the last ninety days. 0.23% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:NOC traded up $20.09 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $517.22. 1,842,813 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 885,227. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12 month low of $422.19 and a 12 month high of $555.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $74.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.14. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $490.98 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $482.57.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The aerospace company reported $6.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $6.33 by ($0.27). Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 26.24%. The company had revenue of $9.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.07 billion. On average, equities analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd will be given a dividend of $2.31 per share. This represents a $9.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.79%. This is a boost from Northrop Grumman's previous quarterly dividend of $2.06. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. Northrop Grumman's payout ratio is presently 36.46%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NOC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered Northrop Grumman from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Truist Financial dropped their price target on Northrop Grumman from $600.00 to $550.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Argus upgraded Northrop Grumman to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $525.00 target price on Northrop Grumman and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on Northrop Grumman from $583.00 to $571.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $545.31.

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.