Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC Shares Purchased by Wellington Management Group LLP

Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) by 23.4% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 5,139,333 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 974,633 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $2,631,390,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of NOC. IMA Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Bellwether Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Hollencrest Capital Management raised its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 790.0% in the 1st quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 89 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 0.1%

NYSE:NOC opened at $584.02 on Monday. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 1 year low of $426.24 and a 1 year high of $594.68. The stock has a market cap of $83.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.53, a PEG ratio of 5.59 and a beta of 0.15. The business has a fifty day moving average of $532.08 and a 200-day moving average of $501.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 1.04.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The aerospace company reported $7.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.84 by $0.27. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 25.52% and a net margin of 9.74%. The company had revenue of $10.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.15 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $6.36 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In related news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $505.77, for a total value of $3,793,275.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 201,602 shares in the company, valued at $101,964,243.54. This trade represents a 3.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Roshan S. Roeder sold 991 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $490.00, for a total value of $485,590.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $156,310. This trade represents a 75.65% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 16,536 shares of company stock valued at $8,306,857 in the last three months. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on NOC. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $625.00 target price (up from $550.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating and set a $542.00 price target (down from $580.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Wall Street Zen lowered Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Northrop Grumman from $480.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $586.79.

Northrop Grumman Company 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.