Mufg Securities Americas Inc. Invests $949,000 in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Mufg Securities Americas Inc. bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 2,022 shares of the aerospace company's stock, valued at approximately $949,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in NOC. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Albion Financial Group UT bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. 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 valued at about $42,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its position in Northrop Grumman by 291.7% in the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 94 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $475.65, for a total value of $1,783,687.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 212,852 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $101,243,053.80. This represents a 1.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 464 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.75, for a total transaction of $213,788.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 245 shares of the company's stock, valued at $112,883.75. The trade was a 65.44% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 4,505 shares of company stock worth $2,127,632 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company's stock.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 0.8%

NYSE NOC traded up $3.62 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $472.67. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,148,319 shares, compared to its average volume of 899,843. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $496.53 and a 200 day moving average of $485.64. Northrop Grumman Co. has a twelve month low of $418.60 and a twelve month high of $555.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $68.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.68, a PEG ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.15. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $9.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.07 billion. Equities research analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $2.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.74%. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio is currently 32.52%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target 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. 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. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $424.00 to $521.00 in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $600.00 to $550.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $525.00 price target on shares of Northrop Grumman and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently 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.