Challenger Wealth Management Buys New Stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Challenger Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 1,317 shares of the aerospace company's stock, valued at approximately $618,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NOC. American Trust boosted its position in Northrop Grumman by 35.9% in the fourth quarter. American Trust now owns 2,084 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $978,000 after buying an additional 550 shares in the last quarter. Ascent Group LLC increased its position in Northrop Grumman by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 4,419 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $2,074,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the period. Putney Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter worth about $84,000. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter valued at about $47,000. Finally, Toronto Dominion Bank lifted its position in Northrop Grumman by 7.2% during the 4th quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 73,609 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $34,544,000 after purchasing an additional 4,931 shares during the period. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on NOC. UBS Group reduced their target price on Northrop Grumman from $583.00 to $571.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wall Street Zen lowered Northrop Grumman from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target 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. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $424.00 to $521.00 in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Nine equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $545.31.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In other news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 3,849 shares of company stock worth $1,831,461 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.23% of the company's stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

NOC traded up $2.54 during trading on Friday, hitting $481.93. The company's stock had a trading volume of 240,117 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,093,269. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $493.83 and its 200-day simple moving average is $483.14. The firm has a market cap of $69.36 billion, a PE ratio of 17.01, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.15. Northrop Grumman Co. has a one year low of $418.60 and a one year 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.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The aerospace company reported $6.06 earnings per share (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 business had revenue of $9.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.07 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be given a dividend of $2.31 per share. This represents a $9.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.92%. This is a boost from Northrop Grumman's previous quarterly dividend of $2.06. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio is currently 36.46%.

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.