Corient IA LLC Makes New Investment in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC)

Corient IA LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund purchased 1,500 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $768,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in NOC. IMA Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman during the first quarter worth about $27,000. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman during the first quarter worth about $30,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Bellwether Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Hollencrest Capital Management grew its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 790.0% in the first quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 89 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of NOC stock opened at $584.02 on Friday. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 52-week low of $426.24 and a 52-week high of $594.68. The stock has a market cap of $83.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.53, a P/E/G ratio of 5.59 and a beta of 0.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 1.04. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $532.08 and a 200-day moving average of $500.93.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The aerospace company reported $7.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.84 by $0.27. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 9.74% and a return on equity of 25.52%. The firm had revenue of $10.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.15 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $6.36 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd were paid a $2.31 dividend. This is a boost from Northrop Grumman’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.06. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $9.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is 34.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In related news, VP Robert J. Fleming sold 3,500 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $505.77, for a total transaction of $1,770,195.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 1,827 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $924,041.79. This trade represents a 65.70% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 729 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 13th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $3,819,575.04. The trade was a 8.80% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 16,536 shares of company stock worth $8,306,857 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on NOC shares. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $580.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $625.00 target price (up previously from $550.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $547.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating and set a $542.00 target price (down previously from $580.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $586.79.

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.