ProShare Advisors LLC Purchases 2,333 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 11.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,384 shares of the aerospace company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,333 shares during the quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC's holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $10,974,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Sapient Capital LLC raised its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Sapient Capital LLC now owns 2,049 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $962,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 1,006 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $472,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. boosted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 900 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $422,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 1,987 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $933,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC now owns 432 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $203,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of NYSE NOC traded up $5.14 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $476.26. 1,001,296 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 901,330. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1 year low of $418.60 and a 1 year high of $555.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $68.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.81, a PEG ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The business has a 50 day moving average of $496.43 and a two-hundred day moving average of $485.22.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last issued its 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 firm had revenue of $9.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.07 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.24% and a net margin of 10.17%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd will be given a dividend of $2.31 per share. This represents a $9.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.94%. This is an increase from Northrop Grumman's previous quarterly dividend of $2.06. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.52%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on NOC shares. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $557.00 to $540.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $600.00 to $550.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Northrop Grumman from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $525.00 price target on shares of Northrop Grumman and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $545.31.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In related news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 192 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $429.08, for a total transaction of $82,383.36. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 709 shares in the company, valued at approximately $304,217.72. This represents a 21.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.65, for a total value of $1,783,687.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 212,852 shares in the company, valued at approximately $101,243,053.80. This trade represents a 1.73% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 4,505 shares of company stock worth $2,127,632. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.