SOL Capital Management CO Makes New Investment in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC)

SOL Capital Management CO acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 695 shares of the aerospace company's stock, valued at approximately $356,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in 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 purchasing an additional 1,895 shares during the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 2.2% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 76.8% during the fourth quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 5,898 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $2,768,000 after buying an additional 2,562 shares in the last quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC increased its stake in Northrop Grumman by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 1,574 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $739,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the period. Finally, NewEdge Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 6,381 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $2,995,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Truist Financial decreased their price objective 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 reduced their target price on Northrop Grumman from $575.00 to $550.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $424.00 to $521.00 in a report on Friday, April 11th. Susquehanna dropped their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $557.00 to $540.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $525.00 price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $552.54.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Northrop Grumman news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 7,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 13th. The shares were 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 directly owns 201,602 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $101,964,243.54. The trade was a 3.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Roshan S. Roeder sold 991 shares of the business'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 now owns 319 shares of the company's stock, valued at $156,310. This trade represents a 75.65% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 16,569 shares of company stock valued at $8,322,279. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of NOC stock opened at $493.74 on Friday. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 12-month low of $422.69 and a 12-month high of $555.57. The company has a market capitalization of $71.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.48, a P/E/G ratio of 5.32 and a beta of 0.14. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $485.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $483.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The aerospace company reported $6.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $6.33 by ($0.27). Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 25.46% and a net margin of 9.19%. The firm had revenue of $9.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.07 billion. Research analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 earnings per share 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 given a $2.31 dividend. This is an increase from Northrop Grumman's previous quarterly dividend of $2.06. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $9.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.87%. Northrop Grumman's payout ratio is presently 36.46%.

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.

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