IAG Wealth Partners LLC Boosts Stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

IAG Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 8.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 271 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 21 shares during the quarter. IAG Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $139,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in NOC. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Bellwether Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter worth $42,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its position in Northrop Grumman by 291.7% in the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 94 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 7,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $505.77, for a total transaction of $3,793,275.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 201,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $101,964,243.54. The trade was a 3.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Roshan S. Roeder sold 991 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $490.00, for a total transaction of $485,590.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 319 shares in the company, valued at $156,310. The trade was a 75.65% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 12,340 shares of company stock valued at $6,183,378. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

NOC stock opened at $517.22 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $490.98 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $482.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $74.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.25, a PEG ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12-month low of $418.60 and a 12-month high of $555.57.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The aerospace company reported $6.06 earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate of $10.07 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 26.24%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be paid a dividend of $2.31 per share. This is a positive change from Northrop Grumman’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.06. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $9.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.79%. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is presently 36.46%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NOC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company set a $525.00 target price on shares of Northrop Grumman and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $600.00 to $550.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $575.00 to $550.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Susquehanna decreased their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $557.00 to $540.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.