Yacktman Asset Management LP Cuts Stock Holdings in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC)

Yacktman Asset Management LP lowered its position in shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 18.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 234,193 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 52,577 shares during the quarter. Northrop Grumman makes up about 1.6% of Yacktman Asset Management LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest position. Yacktman Asset Management LP owned approximately 0.16% of Northrop Grumman worth $119,909,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,677,781 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $5,949,556,000 after purchasing an additional 56,807 shares during the period. Capital International Investors grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 5.9% during 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 period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,164,700 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,954,452,000 after purchasing an additional 23,808 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.7% during the fourth 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 grew its stake in Northrop Grumman by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,807,223 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,317,402,000 after acquiring an additional 109,308 shares during the period. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on NOC. Wall Street Zen cut Northrop Grumman from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $525.00 target price on Northrop Grumman and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "hold" rating and issued a $542.00 target price (down from $580.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Tuesday. Truist Financial cut their price target on Northrop Grumman from $600.00 to $550.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $580.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $550.00.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 0.3%

Northrop Grumman stock traded up $1.69 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $509.63. The company's stock had a trading volume of 185,122 shares, compared to its average volume of 876,708. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The stock has a market cap of $73.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.52 and a beta of 0.15. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $488.32 and a 200-day moving average price of $484.93. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 12 month low of $422.69 and a 12 month high of $555.57.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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). The business had revenue of $9.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.07 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 25.46% and a net margin of 9.19%. As a group, analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd were paid a dividend of $2.31 per share. This represents a $9.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.81%. This is an increase from Northrop Grumman's previous quarterly dividend of $2.06. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 2nd. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio is 36.46%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Roshan S. Roeder sold 991 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 319 shares of the company's stock, valued at $156,310. This represents a 75.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 729 shares of the 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. The trade was 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 16,569 shares of company stock valued at $8,323,150. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Northrop Grumman 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.