Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Shares Sold by AHL Investment Management Inc.

AHL Investment Management Inc. reduced its stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 1.2% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 8,805 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 107 shares during the quarter. Northrop Grumman makes up 3.1% of AHL Investment Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest position. AHL Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $4,508,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Northrop Grumman by 55,522.3% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,520,158 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $778,336,000 after buying an additional 1,517,425 shares during the period. Capital International Investors increased its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 8,239,434 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $3,866,133,000 after acquiring an additional 461,307 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 28.5% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,030,644 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $952,962,000 after purchasing an additional 450,858 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 337.1% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 482,112 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $226,250,000 after purchasing an additional 371,814 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter worth $171,580,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $424.00 to $521.00 in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $557.00 to $540.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $580.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Truist Financial dropped their price target 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. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $545.31.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In related news, VP Roshan S. Roeder sold 991 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the vice president now owns 319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $156,310. This trade represents a 75.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 1,057 shares of company stock worth $517,733 over the last ninety days. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

NOC opened at $489.55 on Monday. Northrop Grumman Co. has a fifty-two week low of $418.60 and a fifty-two week high of $555.57. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $491.04 and a 200 day moving average of $482.29. 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 firm has a market cap 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 released its 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). Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 26.24%. The company had revenue of $9.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.07 billion. On average, research analysts expect 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be given a $2.31 dividend. This is an increase from Northrop Grumman’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.06. This represents a $9.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.89%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.46%.

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.