2,365 Shares in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Purchased by FORA Capital LLC

FORA Capital LLC purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 2,365 shares of the aerospace company's stock, valued at approximately $1,110,000.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Albion Financial Group UT purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Bellwether Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 291.7% during the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 94 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on NOC shares. UBS Group cut their price target on Northrop Grumman from $583.00 to $571.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. StockNews.com lowered Northrop Grumman from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Northrop Grumman from $580.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Citigroup increased their price objective 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. Finally, Susquehanna decreased their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $557.00 to $540.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $545.31.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Northrop Grumman news, 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 completion of 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 464 shares of the firm's 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 245 shares in the company, valued at $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 4,505 shares of company stock valued at $2,127,632 in the last three months. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NOC traded down $7.80 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $471.36. The company had a trading volume of 881,730 shares, compared to its average volume of 894,084. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12 month low of $418.60 and a 12 month high of $555.57. The stock has a market cap of $67.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.63, a PEG ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.15. 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 firm's 50 day simple moving average is $498.17 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $486.59.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last issued 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 return on equity of 26.24% and a net margin of 10.17%. The company had revenue of $9.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.07 billion. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a dividend of $2.06 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.75%. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.52%.

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.