Natixis Advisors LLC Acquires 15,557 Shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC)

Natixis Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) by 24.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 78,928 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 15,557 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $40,412,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 644 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $330,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Salvus Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Northrop Grumman by 1.5% during the first quarter. Salvus Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,349 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $691,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. IAG Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 8.4% in the first quarter. IAG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 271 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $139,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC now owns 553 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $283,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the period. Finally, Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG raised its stake in Northrop Grumman by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 1,006 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $472,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Robert J. Fleming sold 3,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the vice president owned 1,827 shares in the company, valued at $924,041.79. The trade was a 65.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Roshan S. Roeder sold 991 shares of the 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 transaction, the vice president directly owned 319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $156,310. This trade represents a 75.65% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 16,569 shares of company stock worth $8,323,150. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of Northrop Grumman stock opened at $576.75 on Friday. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $426.24 and a fifty-two week high of $577.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 1.04. The company has a market capitalization of $82.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.26, a P/E/G ratio of 5.43 and a beta of 0.15. The company has a fifty day moving average of $509.29 and a 200 day moving average of $493.55.

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

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd were given a dividend of $2.31 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 2nd. This is an increase from Northrop Grumman’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.06. This represents a $9.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.06%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NOC has been the topic of a number of research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on Northrop Grumman from $600.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Barclays raised their target price on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the company from $424.00 to $521.00 in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $625.00 target price (up from $550.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $586.79.

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.