Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 27.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,969 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 854 shares during the quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $1,863,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of NOC. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 14.0% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 652,672 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $306,292,000 after acquiring an additional 80,221 shares during the last quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 165.0% in the fourth quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 235,636 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $110,582,000 after purchasing an additional 146,706 shares in the last quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC increased its stake in Northrop Grumman by 101.0% in the fourth quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC now owns 1,228 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $576,000 after purchasing an additional 617 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $252,000. Finally, Victrix Investment Advisors acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,063,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $475.65, for a total transaction 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 represents a 1.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 464 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.75, for a total transaction of $213,788.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 245 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $112,883.75. This trade represents a 65.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 4,313 shares of company stock valued at $2,045,249. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the company from $424.00 to $521.00 in a report on Friday, April 11th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $583.00 to $571.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on Northrop Grumman from $575.00 to $550.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Truist Financial reduced their target price on Northrop Grumman from $600.00 to $550.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $545.31.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

NYSE:NOC opened at $473.07 on Friday. 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 cap of $68.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.15. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $495.53 and its 200 day moving average price is $484.85. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1-year low of $418.60 and a 1-year high of $555.57.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) 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 analysts’ expectations of $10.07 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 26.24%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be given a dividend of $2.31 per share. This is a boost from Northrop Grumman’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.06. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $9.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.95%. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is presently 32.52%.

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.