Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Shares Sold by Stifel Financial Corp

Stifel Financial Corp lowered its position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 116,034 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 1,127 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp owned about 0.08% of Northrop Grumman worth $54,454,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NOC. Sapient Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Sapient Capital LLC now owns 2,049 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $962,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the period. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG grew its stake 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 valued at $472,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. increased its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC raised its position in Northrop Grumman by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 1,987 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $933,000 after acquiring 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 fourth quarter. Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC now owns 432 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $203,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company's stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 1.6 %

NYSE NOC traded up $7.44 on Monday, reaching $480.64. The company had a trading volume of 695,343 shares, compared to its average volume of 884,683. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $491.64 and a 200-day moving average of $489.69. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1 year low of $418.60 and a 1 year high of $555.57. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $69.18 billion, a PE ratio of 16.93, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.20.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The aerospace company reported $6.06 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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, equities research analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $2.06 per share. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.52%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 464 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.75, for a total value of $213,788.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 245 shares in the company, valued at approximately $112,883.75. This trade represents a 65.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $475.65, for a total value of $1,783,687.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 212,852 shares in the company, valued at approximately $101,243,053.80. This represents a 1.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 4,505 shares of company stock worth $2,127,182. Insiders own 0.23% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NOC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on Northrop Grumman from $575.00 to $550.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Citigroup increased their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Truist Financial cut their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $600.00 to $550.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $580.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $545.31.

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.