KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC Boosts Stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC raised its position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 6.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,719 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 398 shares during the period. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $3,440,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Bellwether Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its stake in Northrop Grumman by 291.7% in the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 94 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Northrop Grumman stock opened at $489.55 on Friday. Northrop Grumman Co. has a one year low of $418.60 and a one year high of $555.57. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $491.04 and a 200-day moving average price of $482.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.27, a PEG ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.14.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The aerospace company reported $6.06 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.33 by ($0.27). Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.24% and a net margin of 10.17%. The company had revenue of $9.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.07 billion. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be issued a $2.31 dividend. This is a positive change from Northrop Grumman’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.06. This represents a $9.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.46%.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In other news, VP Roshan S. Roeder sold 991 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $490.00, for a total value of $485,590.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $156,310. This trade represents a 75.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders sold 1,057 shares of company stock valued at $517,733 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on NOC. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $557.00 to $540.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $580.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $600.00 to $550.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Argus raised Northrop Grumman to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $583.00 to $571.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $545.31.

Northrop Grumman Company 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.