Master S Wealth Management Inc. Takes $209,000 Position in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC)

Master S Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 409 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $209,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Northrop Grumman by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,677,781 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $5,949,556,000 after buying an additional 56,807 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its position in Northrop Grumman by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 8,239,434 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $3,866,133,000 after purchasing an additional 461,307 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in Northrop Grumman by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,164,700 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,954,452,000 after purchasing an additional 23,808 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,025,263 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,417,850,000 after acquiring an additional 21,903 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,807,223 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,317,402,000 after acquiring an additional 109,308 shares during the period. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on NOC. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $580.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Susquehanna dropped 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 note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped 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 note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $583.00 to $571.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Seven 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 company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $552.54.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NOC stock opened at $494.45 on Friday. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 12 month low of $422.69 and a 12 month high of $555.57. The stock has a market cap of $71.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.51, a P/E/G ratio of 5.39 and a beta of 0.14. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $484.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $483.37.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $9.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.07 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 9.19% and a return on equity of 25.46%. On average, 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. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd were paid a $2.31 dividend. This represents a $9.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.87%. 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. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.46%.

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 value of $1,770,195.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,827 shares in the company, valued at $924,041.79. This trade represents a 65.70% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 7,500 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $505.77, for a total transaction of $3,793,275.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 201,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $101,964,243.54. This trade represents a 3.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 16,569 shares of company stock valued at $8,322,279. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

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.