Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) Shares Acquired by Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 6.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,881 shares of the aerospace company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,034 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd's holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $9,155,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 3.0% in the 1st 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 during the period. Salvus Wealth Management LLC increased 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 purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. IAG Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake 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 worth $139,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG lifted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 22 shares during the period. Finally, Keel Point LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Keel Point LLC now owns 1,069 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $502,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the period. 83.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 7,500 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction on Friday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $505.77, for a total transaction of $3,793,275.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 201,602 shares in the company, valued at $101,964,243.54. The trade was a 3.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 729 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $505.77, for a total transaction of $368,706.33. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 7,552 shares in the company, valued at $3,819,575.04. This trade represents a 8.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 16,569 shares of company stock worth $8,322,279. 0.23% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Northrop Grumman stock traded up $4.50 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $503.40. The company had a trading volume of 381,831 shares, compared to its average volume of 880,004. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.84. 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 $72.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.87, a P/E/G ratio of 5.45 and a beta of 0.15. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $486.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $483.97.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The aerospace company reported $6.06 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd were issued a $2.31 dividend. This represents a $9.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 2nd. This is a boost from Northrop Grumman's previous quarterly dividend of $2.06. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.46%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NOC has been the subject of several recent research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $575.00 to $550.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wall Street Zen cut Northrop Grumman from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Truist Financial lowered their target price on Northrop Grumman from $600.00 to $550.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Susquehanna reduced their price target on Northrop Grumman from $557.00 to $540.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target on Northrop Grumman from $583.00 to $571.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $552.54.

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.