Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 5.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 16,856 shares of the aerospace company's stock after purchasing an additional 882 shares during the period. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc.'s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $7,910,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,677,781 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $5,949,556,000 after buying an additional 56,807 shares during the period. Capital International Investors raised its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 5.9% in 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 during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,164,700 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,954,452,000 after acquiring an additional 23,808 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,025,263 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,417,850,000 after purchasing an additional 21,903 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,807,223 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,317,402,000 after purchasing an additional 109,308 shares during the period. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
Northrop Grumman Stock Up 1.0%
Shares of NYSE:NOC traded up $4.97 during trading on Friday, reaching $484.36. The stock had a trading volume of 1,304,406 shares, compared to its average volume of 904,802. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $493.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $483.14. 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 Co. has a one year low of $418.60 and a one year high of $555.57. The company has a market capitalization of $69.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.09, a PEG ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.15.
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 the consensus estimate of $6.33 by ($0.27). Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 26.24%. The firm had revenue of $9.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.07 billion. As a group, research analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be issued a $2.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $9.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.91%. This is a boost from Northrop Grumman's previous quarterly dividend of $2.06. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.46%.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other Northrop Grumman news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.65, for a total value 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 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 SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 3,849 shares of company stock valued at $1,831,461. Insiders own 0.23% of the company's stock.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of research firms recently weighed in on NOC. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective 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. Argus upgraded Northrop Grumman to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Truist Financial decreased their price target on Northrop Grumman from $600.00 to $550.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company set a $525.00 price objective on Northrop Grumman and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their target price on Northrop Grumman from $583.00 to $571.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $545.31.
Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on NOC
About Northrop Grumman
(
Free Report)
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.
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