Deutsche Bank AG Buys 32,373 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Deutsche Bank AG increased its position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 9.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 358,338 shares of the aerospace company's stock after purchasing an additional 32,373 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG owned 0.25% of Northrop Grumman worth $168,164,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NOC. Colonial Trust Co SC raised its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 746 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $350,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC raised its stake in Northrop Grumman by 10.0% during the 4th quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 1,739 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $816,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the period. Capital Advantage Inc. acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter valued at $2,441,000. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP increased its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 215.3% in the fourth quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP now owns 27,935 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $13,110,000 after acquiring an additional 19,076 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bridgefront Capital LLC acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter worth $267,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $475.65, for a total transaction of $1,783,687.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 212,852 shares in the company, valued at $101,243,053.80. This trade represents a 1.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 464 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.75, for a total transaction of $213,788.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 245 shares of the company's stock, valued at $112,883.75. This represents a 65.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 4,505 shares of company stock worth $2,127,632. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on NOC shares. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of 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 dropped their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $600.00 to $550.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price target for the company from $424.00 to $521.00 in a report on Friday, April 11th. Argus raised shares of Northrop Grumman to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Susquehanna lowered their target price 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. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $545.31.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of NOC stock traded up $8.01 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $464.31. 487,758 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 895,613. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12 month low of $418.60 and a 12 month high of $555.57. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $497.49 and its 200 day simple moving average is $486.29. The stock has a market cap of $66.83 billion, a PE ratio of 16.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.15. 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 - Get Free Report) last announced 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). The firm had revenue of $9.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.07 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.24% and a net margin of 10.17%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.77%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Northrop Grumman's payout ratio is 32.52%.

Northrop Grumman 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.