Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Stake Lessened by Fourpath Capital Management LLC

Fourpath Capital Management LLC lessened its holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 0.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,915 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 25 shares during the quarter. Fourpath Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $1,492,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NOC. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 176.3% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 2,970 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,394,000 after purchasing an additional 1,895 shares during the period. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,520 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $3,998,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 2,619 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,229,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 21.9% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 12,196 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $5,723,000 after purchasing an additional 2,193 shares during the period. Finally, Stephens Inc. AR boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 12,856 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $6,033,000 after purchasing an additional 343 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Roshan S. Roeder sold 991 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $490.00, for a total value of $485,590.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $156,310. This represents a 75.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In the last three months, insiders sold 1,090 shares of company stock valued at $533,853. 0.23% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

NOC stock opened at $491.54 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $70.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.34, a PEG ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.14. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $490.63 and a 200 day simple moving average of $482.25. Northrop Grumman Co. has a fifty-two week low of $418.60 and a fifty-two week high of $555.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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). The company had revenue of $9.47 billion during 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 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd will be issued a $2.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $9.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.88%. This is an increase from Northrop Grumman’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.06. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.46%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NOC has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company set a $525.00 price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $600.00 to $550.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $575.00 to $550.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $583.00 to $571.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $580.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $545.31.

About Northrop Grumman

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.