4,535 Shares in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) Acquired by Westpac Banking Corp

Key Points

• Westpac Banking Corp has acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman Corporation valued at approximately $2.32 million, with 4,535 shares purchased during the first quarter.
• Northrop Grumman recently increased its quarterly dividend to $2.31, representing a positive change from the previous dividend of $2.06, with a current dividend yield of 1.6%.
• The company reported an EPS of $7.11 in its latest quarterly earnings, surpassing analysts' expectations and marking a 1.3% increase in revenue year-over-year.

Westpac Banking Corp bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm bought 4,535 shares of the aerospace company's stock, valued at approximately $2,322,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of NOC. Rossmore Private Capital grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 12.8% in the 1st quarter. Rossmore Private Capital now owns 712 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $364,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,930 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $4,060,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 7,009 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $3,589,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Linscomb Wealth Inc. acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the 1st quarter worth $240,000. Finally, SouthState Corp grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 56.5% in the 1st quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 133 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $68,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

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 directly owned 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 Thomas H. Jones sold 729 shares of the business's 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 7,552 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,819,575.04. This represents a 8.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 16,536 shares of company stock valued at $8,306,857. Insiders own 0.23% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $600.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Susquehanna raised their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $557.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Truist Financial restated a "buy" rating and issued a $625.00 price target (up from $550.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a "hold" rating and issued a $542.00 price target (down from $580.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $586.79.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

NOC stock traded up $2.28 during trading on Thursday, hitting $584.37. 543,299 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 892,277. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a one year low of $426.24 and a one year high of $594.68. The stock has a market cap of $83.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.54, a P/E/G ratio of 5.57 and a beta of 0.15. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $530.19 and a 200 day simple moving average of $500.13. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The aerospace company reported $7.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.84 by $0.27. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 9.74% and a return on equity of 25.52%. The firm had revenue of $10.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.15 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $6.36 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd were paid a $2.31 dividend. This is a boost from Northrop Grumman's previous quarterly dividend of $2.06. This represents a $9.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 2nd. Northrop Grumman's payout ratio is presently 34.06%.

About Northrop Grumman

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.