Vident Advisory LLC grew its position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 7.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 52,895 shares of the aerospace company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,642 shares during the period. Vident Advisory LLC's holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $24,823,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of NOC. Capital International Investors increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 461,307 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 28.5% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,030,644 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $952,962,000 after buying an additional 450,858 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 337.1% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 482,112 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $226,250,000 after buying an additional 371,814 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter worth about $171,580,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 24.7% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,733,680 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $813,599,000 after buying an additional 343,018 shares during the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Susquehanna lowered their target price on Northrop Grumman from $557.00 to $540.00 and set a "positive" 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. Wells Fargo & Company set a $525.00 price target on Northrop Grumman and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Wolfe Research upgraded Northrop Grumman from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Northrop Grumman from $580.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Nine investment 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 company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $545.31.
View Our Latest Research Report on NOC
Insiders Place Their Bets
In related news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at approximately $101,243,053.80. This trade represents a 1.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 464 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.75, for a total value of $213,788.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 245 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $112,883.75. This trade represents a 65.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 4,313 shares of company stock valued at $2,045,249 over the last quarter. 0.23% of the stock is owned by insiders.
Northrop Grumman Price Performance
Shares of NYSE:NOC traded down $0.83 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $473.07. The company had a trading volume of 922,312 shares, compared to its average volume of 904,087. Northrop Grumman Co. has a twelve month low of $418.60 and a twelve month high of $555.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The stock has a market cap of $68.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.15. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $495.88 and its 200-day simple moving average is $485.08.
Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The aerospace company reported $6.06 EPS 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 company had revenue of $9.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.07 billion. On average, research analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current year.
Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be paid a dividend of $2.31 per share. 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. This represents a $9.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.95%. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.52%.
Northrop Grumman Company Profile
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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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