Oak Thistle LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC)

Oak Thistle LLC lessened its position in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) by 14.4% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 653 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 110 shares during the quarter. Oak Thistle LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $334,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in NOC. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 55,522.3% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,520,158 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $778,336,000 after purchasing an additional 1,517,425 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 8,239,434 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $3,866,133,000 after buying an additional 461,307 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in Northrop Grumman by 28.5% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,030,644 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $952,962,000 after acquiring an additional 450,858 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in Northrop Grumman by 337.1% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 482,112 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $226,250,000 after acquiring an additional 371,814 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 24.7% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,733,680 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $813,599,000 after acquiring an additional 343,018 shares during the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Shares of NOC opened at $569.52 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $501.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $490.55. The stock has a market cap of $81.54 billion, a PE ratio of 20.99, a P/E/G ratio of 6.18 and a beta of 0.15. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 1-year low of $426.24 and a 1-year high of $576.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.84.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The aerospace company reported $7.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.84 by $0.27. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 9.74% and a return on equity of 25.52%. The firm had revenue of $10.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.15 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $6.36 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 EPS 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 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 was Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $9.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.62%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.06%.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Roshan S. Roeder sold 991 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 4th. The stock was 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 directly owned 319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $156,310. The trade was a 75.65% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 201,602 shares in the company, valued at $101,964,243.54. This represents a 3.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 16,569 shares of company stock valued at $8,323,150. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on NOC. Wall Street Zen cut Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $580.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Northrop Grumman from $547.00 to $565.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. 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 note on Wednesday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $600.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Ten 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $576.67.

About Northrop Grumman

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.