Empirical Finance LLC Raises Stock Position in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC)

Empirical Finance LLC increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) by 1.8% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 5,006 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $2,563,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of NOC. Brookstone Capital Management lifted its position in Northrop Grumman by 121.0% during the first quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 6,640 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $3,400,000 after purchasing an additional 3,635 shares during the last quarter. GAM Holding AG increased its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 51.9% in the 1st quarter. GAM Holding AG now owns 2,338 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,197,000 after buying an additional 799 shares during the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group raised its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 12.8% during the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 8,857 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $4,132,000 after buying an additional 1,008 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,025,263 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,417,850,000 after acquiring an additional 21,903 shares during the last quarter. Finally, RFG Bristol Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter worth $284,000. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Roshan S. Roeder sold 991 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $490.00, for a total transaction of $485,590.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $156,310. The trade was a 75.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 729 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $505.77, for a total value of $368,706.33. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 7,552 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,819,575.04. The trade was a 8.80% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 16,569 shares of company stock valued at $8,323,150 in the last 90 days. 0.23% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 0.2%

NYSE:NOC opened at $569.52 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $81.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.99, a P/E/G ratio of 6.19 and a beta of 0.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. The company has a fifty day moving average of $501.34 and a 200 day moving average of $490.74. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 52 week low of $426.24 and a 52 week high of $576.86.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 22nd. The aerospace company reported $7.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.84 by $0.27. The firm had revenue of $10.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.15 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 9.74% and a return on equity of 25.52%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $6.36 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd were issued a $2.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $9.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.62%. This is a boost from Northrop Grumman’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.06. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.06%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on NOC. UBS Group reduced their target price on Northrop Grumman from $583.00 to $571.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $542.00 price objective (down from $580.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Susquehanna set a $540.00 target price on Northrop Grumman and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Northrop Grumman from $600.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $625.00 price target (up from $550.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Wednesday. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $569.33.

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.