Ameriflex Group Inc. Purchases Shares of 590 Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 590 shares of the aerospace company's stock, valued at approximately $287,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Bellwether Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter worth about $42,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its stake 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 during the period. Finally, VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter worth about $47,000. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 464 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.75, for a total transaction of $213,788.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 245 shares in the company, valued at approximately $112,883.75. This represents a 65.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.65, for a total transaction of $1,783,687.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 212,852 shares in the company, valued at approximately $101,243,053.80. The trade was a 1.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 4,313 shares of company stock worth $2,045,249. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company's stock.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of NOC traded up $3.96 on Thursday, reaching $479.28. 863,949 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 904,947. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $494.14 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $483.52. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12 month low of $418.60 and a 12 month high of $555.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $68.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.15. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 26.24% and a net margin of 10.17%. The company had revenue of $9.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.07 billion. Research analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The company 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 dividend of $2.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $9.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.93%. This is a boost from Northrop Grumman's previous quarterly dividend of $2.06. Northrop Grumman's payout ratio is currently 36.46%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $575.00 to $550.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Truist Financial lowered their price target on Northrop Grumman from $600.00 to $550.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Northrop Grumman from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, UBS Group reduced 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. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $545.31.

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.