Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Acquires Shares of 64,627 Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 64,627 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $33,090,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of NOC. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 3.0% during the first quarter. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 644 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $330,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Salvus Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Northrop Grumman by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Salvus Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,349 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $691,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. IAG Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 8.4% in the 1st quarter. IAG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 271 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $139,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the period. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG raised its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 1,006 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $472,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jacobi Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 1,987 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $933,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 729 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $505.77, for a total value of $368,706.33. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 7,552 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,819,575.04. This trade represents a 8.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $495.00, for a total value of $1,856,250.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 209,102 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $103,505,490. The trade was a 1.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 16,569 shares of company stock valued at $8,322,279 in the last ninety days. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of NOC opened at $496.89 on Tuesday. Northrop Grumman Co. has a one year low of $422.19 and a one year high of $555.57. The stock has a market cap of $71.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.53, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.01. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $491.10 and a two-hundred day moving average of $482.58.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The aerospace company reported $6.06 earnings per share (EPS) 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 net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 26.24%. As a group, research analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be paid a dividend of $2.31 per share. This is a positive change from Northrop Grumman’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.06. This represents a $9.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.86%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.46%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on NOC. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Truist Financial reduced 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. Argus raised shares of Northrop Grumman to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $575.00 to $550.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $525.00 price target on Northrop Grumman and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Nine 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 MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.