Wealthspire Advisors LLC Acquires 4,493 Shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC)

Key Points

• Wealthspire Advisors LLC increased its position in Northrop Grumman Corporation by 103.6% during Q1, holding shares worth $4.52 million after purchasing 4,493 additional shares.
• Northrop Grumman recently reported $7.11 earnings per share for the latest quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $6.84, along with a 1.3% year-over-year revenue increase.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $2.31, raising its annualized dividend yield to 1.6%, up from the previous $2.06 dividend.

Wealthspire Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 103.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 8,830 shares of the aerospace company's stock after acquiring an additional 4,493 shares during the period. Wealthspire Advisors LLC's holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $4,521,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 7.3% in the first quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 720 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $369,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC lifted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 7.3% in the first quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 854 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $437,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the period. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC lifted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 3.1% in the first quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC now owns 2,393 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,225,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the period. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC lifted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 5.8% in the first quarter. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC now owns 1,231 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $630,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the period. Finally, Probity Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 7.8% in the first quarter. Probity Advisors Inc. now owns 620 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $317,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the period. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on NOC. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $580.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Wall Street Zen lowered Northrop Grumman from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $600.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Bank of America boosted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Truist Financial reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $625.00 price target (up from $550.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $586.79.

Northrop Grumman Stock Down 1.0%

NYSE NOC traded down $6.09 on Friday, reaching $581.29. The company had a trading volume of 749,424 shares, compared to its average volume of 876,217. The stock has a market capitalization of $83.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.43, a P/E/G ratio of 5.57 and a beta of 0.15. The company's fifty day moving average is $522.66 and its 200 day moving average is $497.88. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 52-week low of $426.24 and a 52-week high of $594.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The aerospace company reported $7.11 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $6.84 by $0.27. The business had revenue of $10.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.15 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 25.52% and a net margin of 9.74%. Northrop Grumman's quarterly revenue was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $6.36 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 given a $2.31 dividend. This represents a $9.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 2nd. This is an increase from Northrop Grumman's previous quarterly dividend of $2.06. Northrop Grumman's payout ratio is currently 34.06%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Robert J. Fleming sold 3,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 1,827 shares in the company, valued at $924,041.79. This represents a 65.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Roshan S. Roeder sold 991 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $490.00, for a total value of $485,590.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 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. Insiders have sold 16,536 shares of company stock worth $8,306,857 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company's stock.

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.