Victory Capital Management Inc. Reduces Holdings in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC)

Victory Capital Management Inc. trimmed its stake in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 3.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 86,489 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 2,950 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned 0.06% of Northrop Grumman worth $44,283,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on NOC shares. Truist Financial dropped their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $600.00 to $550.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $583.00 to $571.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Northrop Grumman from $580.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Tuesday. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $550.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 729 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $505.77, for a total transaction of $368,706.33. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 7,552 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,819,575.04. This trade represents a 8.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Robert J. Fleming sold 3,500 shares of Northrop Grumman 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 transaction, the vice president owned 1,827 shares of the company's stock, valued at $924,041.79. This represents a 65.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 16,569 shares of company stock worth $8,323,150 in the last ninety days. 0.23% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

NOC stock traded up $48.86 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $564.15. The company had a trading volume of 1,603,602 shares, compared to its average volume of 879,817. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $492.64 and a 200-day moving average price of $487.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The firm has a market cap of $81.20 billion, a PE ratio of 22.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.17 and a beta of 0.15. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 1-year low of $426.24 and a 1-year high of $567.23.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last released 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 company 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%. On average, analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd were given a dividend of $2.31 per share. This is a boost from Northrop Grumman's previous quarterly dividend of $2.06. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $9.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.64%. 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.