Pure Financial Advisors LLC Reduces Stock Position in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC)

Pure Financial Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) by 5.8% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 4,147 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 257 shares during the quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $2,123,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. GAM Holding AG increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 51.9% in the first quarter. GAM Holding AG now owns 2,338 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,197,000 after buying an additional 799 shares during the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 12.8% in the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in 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 in the last quarter. RFG Bristol Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter valued at $284,000. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 74.4% in the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 156,149 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $73,279,000 after acquiring an additional 66,638 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Shares of NOC opened at $487.45 on Thursday. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $422.69 and a fifty-two week high of $555.57. The company has a market capitalization of $70.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.29 and a beta of 0.14. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $486.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $483.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.95.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The aerospace company reported $6.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $6.33 by ($0.27). Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 25.46% and a net margin of 9.19%. The business had revenue of $9.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.07 billion. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd were given a $2.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $9.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.90%. This is an increase from Northrop Grumman’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.06. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.46%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NOC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $525.00 price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Argus upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $583.00 to $571.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $600.00 to $550.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $553.43.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In related news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $505.77, for a total value of $3,793,275.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 201,602 shares in the company, valued at $101,964,243.54. This trade represents a 3.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 729 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $505.77, for a total transaction of $368,706.33. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 7,552 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,819,575.04. The trade was a 8.80% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 16,569 shares of company stock worth $8,322,279 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

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.