Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) Shares Purchased by Beacon Capital Management LLC

Beacon Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) by 14.7% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 319 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 41 shares during the period. Beacon Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $163,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Schroder Investment Management Group grew its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 12.8% during the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 8,857 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $4,132,000 after buying an additional 1,008 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,025,263 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,417,850,000 after buying an additional 21,903 shares during the last quarter. RFG Bristol Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter valued at $284,000. Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 74.4% during the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 156,149 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $73,279,000 after buying an additional 66,638 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bay Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter valued at $363,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

NOC stock opened at $503.59 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $490.91 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $482.72. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 12-month low of $422.69 and a 12-month high of $555.57. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The company has a market cap of $72.48 billion, a PE ratio of 19.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.43 and a beta of 0.14.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) 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 company had revenue of $9.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.07 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 25.46% and a net margin of 9.19%. As a group, research analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be paid a dividend of $2.31 per share. This represents a $9.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. This is a boost from Northrop Grumman’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.06. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is currently 36.46%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Northrop Grumman news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $495.00, for a total transaction of $1,856,250.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 209,102 shares in the company, valued at $103,505,490. The trade was a 1.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available 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 value of $368,706.33. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 7,552 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,819,575.04. This trade represents a 8.80% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 16,569 shares of company stock worth $8,322,279 over the last quarter. 0.23% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on NOC shares. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $600.00 to $550.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $575.00 to $550.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Argus upgraded Northrop Grumman to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $557.00 to $540.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Nine equities research 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, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.