Blue Trust Inc. Buys 393 Shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC)

Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) by 13.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,420 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 393 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $1,751,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Bellwether Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its position in Northrop Grumman by 291.7% during the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 94 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Finally, VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter worth approximately $47,000. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 729 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 transaction of $368,706.33. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 7,552 shares in the company, valued at $3,819,575.04. This trade represents a 8.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Roshan S. Roeder sold 991 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $490.00, for a total transaction of $485,590.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $156,310. The trade was a 75.65% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 16,569 shares of company stock worth $8,322,279 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on NOC. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $575.00 to $550.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Truist Financial cut their price target 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. Wells Fargo & Company set a $525.00 price objective on Northrop Grumman and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. UBS Group lowered their target price on Northrop Grumman from $583.00 to $571.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Susquehanna reduced their price target on Northrop Grumman from $557.00 to $540.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $548.33.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

NOC opened at $494.16 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 12-month low of $422.69 and a 12-month high of $555.57. The business has a 50 day moving average of $490.07 and a 200-day moving average of $482.87. The stock has a market cap of $71.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.50, a PEG ratio of 5.40 and a beta of 0.14.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released 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 the consensus estimate of $10.07 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 25.46% and a net margin of 9.19%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd were issued a $2.31 dividend. This is a boost from Northrop Grumman’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.06. This represents a $9.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 2nd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.46%.

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.