Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Shares Purchased by Ethic Inc.

Ethic Inc. grew its holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 226.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 6,906 shares of the aerospace company's stock after buying an additional 4,789 shares during the period. Ethic Inc.'s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $3,241,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in NOC. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Albion Financial Group UT purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Bellwether Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter worth $42,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its position in Northrop Grumman by 291.7% during the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 94 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $583.00 to $571.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Truist Financial lowered 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. Wells Fargo & Company set a $525.00 price target on shares of Northrop Grumman and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $575.00 to $550.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $545.31.

Northrop Grumman Trading Down 2.9%

Shares of NOC stock traded down $13.55 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $457.12. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,272,420 shares, compared to its average volume of 897,152. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $498.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $486.49. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12-month low of $418.60 and a 12-month 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. The firm has a market capitalization of $65.79 billion, a PE ratio of 16.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.15.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last issued its 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 net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 26.24%. The business had revenue of $9.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.07 billion. On average, research analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $2.06 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.80%. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio is presently 32.52%.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 of the company's stock, valued at $101,243,053.80. This trade represents a 1.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 192 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $429.08, for a total transaction of $82,383.36. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 709 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $304,217.72. This represents a 21.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 4,505 shares of company stock valued at $2,127,632. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.