Farther Finance Advisors LLC Increases Stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 98.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,595 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 1,785 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $1,844,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 6,418 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $3,286,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. McDonough Capital Management Inc increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 6.4% in the 1st quarter. McDonough Capital Management Inc now owns 3,715 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,902,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares during the last quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,029 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,039,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co. increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 52.0% in the 1st quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co. now owns 2,854 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,461,000 after purchasing an additional 976 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 4.7% in the 1st quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank now owns 1,325 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $678,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Roshan S. Roeder sold 991 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $490.00, for a total transaction of $485,590.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 319 shares in the company, valued at $156,310. This represents a 75.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 1,090 shares of company stock worth $533,853 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on NOC. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $580.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $424.00 to $521.00 in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $600.00 to $550.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Susquehanna dropped their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $557.00 to $540.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $575.00 to $550.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $545.31.

Northrop Grumman Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:NOC opened at $488.40 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $70.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.23, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.14. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $490.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $482.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.91. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1-year low of $418.60 and a 1-year high of $555.57.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The aerospace company reported $6.06 earnings per share 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 analyst estimates of $10.07 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.24% and a net margin of 10.17%. Sell-side analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd will be paid a dividend of $2.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $9.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.89%. This is a boost from Northrop Grumman’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.06. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.46%.

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.