QRG Capital Management Inc. Sells 918 Shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC

QRG Capital Management Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) by 29.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,203 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 918 shares during the quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $1,342,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Soundwatch Capital LLC bought a new position in Northrop Grumman in the 2nd quarter worth about $6,457,274,000. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the second quarter worth approximately $491,985,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 11.8% during the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,933,061 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,466,472,000 after buying an additional 308,680 shares during the last quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 49,898.2% during the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 169,494 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $84,744,000 after buying an additional 169,155 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.2% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,421,645 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $6,710,554,000 after acquiring an additional 155,344 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Northrop Grumman news, Director Mark A. Welsh III sold 97 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $564.08, for a total transaction of $54,715.76. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 4,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,414,826.48. The trade was a 2.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $615.00, for a total value of $1,845,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 191,602 shares in the company, valued at $117,835,230. This trade represents a 1.54% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 10,097 shares of company stock valued at $6,099,716. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on NOC shares. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $623.00 price objective (down from $688.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Friday, January 9th. BNP Paribas raised Northrop Grumman to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 18th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $714.00 price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. BTIG Research upped their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $630.00 to $680.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $654.00 to $715.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $656.82.

Northrop Grumman Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of NYSE:NOC opened at $657.09 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $581.29 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $580.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $93.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.64, a PEG ratio of 5.41 and a beta of 0.05. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 52-week low of $426.24 and a 52-week high of $674.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.11.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 21st. The aerospace company reported $7.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.43 by $1.24. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 9.82% and a return on equity of 25.49%. The firm had revenue of $10.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.68 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $7.00 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 1st were paid a dividend of $2.31 per share. This represents a $9.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 1st. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.24%.

About Northrop Grumman

Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) is a leading U.S.-based aerospace and defense company that designs, builds and sustains advanced systems, products and technologies for government and commercial customers. Formed through the combination of Northrop and Grumman businesses in the 1990s, the company’s portfolio spans manned and unmanned aircraft, space systems, missile defense, radar and sensor systems, and integrated command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (C4ISR) solutions.

The company’s work includes airframe and platform manufacturing, space hardware and satellite systems, advanced mission systems and cybersecurity services, as well as logistics, sustainment and modernization programs.