Yousif Capital Management LLC Has $6.55 Million Stock Holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Yousif Capital Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 7.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,785 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 1,053 shares during the quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC's holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $6,546,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Bellwether Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter worth about $42,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 291.7% during the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 94 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Northrop Grumman news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 7,500 shares of the business's 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 201,602 shares in the company, valued at approximately $101,964,243.54. The trade was a 3.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Roshan S. Roeder sold 991 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $490.00, for a total value of $485,590.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 319 shares in the company, valued at $156,310. This represents a 75.65% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 12,340 shares of company stock worth $6,183,378. 0.23% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

NYSE:NOC traded up $20.09 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $517.22. 1,842,813 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 885,227. Northrop Grumman Co. has a twelve month low of $422.19 and a twelve month high of $555.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $74.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $490.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $482.57.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The aerospace company reported $6.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $6.33 by ($0.27). Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.24% and a net margin of 10.17%. The business had revenue of $9.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.07 billion. On average, analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be given a dividend of $2.31 per share. This represents a $9.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. This is a positive change from Northrop Grumman's previous quarterly dividend of $2.06. Northrop Grumman's payout ratio is 36.46%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on NOC. Argus raised Northrop Grumman to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Wall Street Zen lowered Northrop Grumman from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Truist Financial decreased their target price on Northrop Grumman from $600.00 to $550.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Northrop Grumman from $580.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Susquehanna decreased their target price 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. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $545.31.

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.