Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Shares Purchased by MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd.

MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 30.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 123,870 shares of the aerospace company's stock after acquiring an additional 28,711 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. owned about 0.09% of Northrop Grumman worth $58,131,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 19.9% in the fourth quarter. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. now owns 16,660 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $7,818,000 after acquiring an additional 2,770 shares during the period. Trinity Street Asset Management LLP lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Trinity Street Asset Management LLP now owns 48,367 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $22,698,000 after buying an additional 1,786 shares in the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 12.8% in the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 8,857 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $4,132,000 after buying an additional 1,008 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,025,263 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,417,850,000 after buying an additional 21,903 shares in the last quarter. Finally, RFG Bristol Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $284,000. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 192 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $429.08, for a total value of $82,383.36. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 709 shares in the company, valued at approximately $304,217.72. This trade represents a 21.31% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 212,852 shares in the company, valued at $101,243,053.80. This represents a 1.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 4,505 shares of company stock worth $2,127,632. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on NOC shares. StockNews.com lowered Northrop Grumman from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $580.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Northrop Grumman from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $424.00 to $521.00 in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $525.00 price objective on Northrop Grumman and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $545.31.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 0.8%

NOC traded up $3.62 during trading on Friday, hitting $472.67. 1,148,319 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 899,843. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $496.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $485.64. The firm has a market cap of $68.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.68, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.15. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1 year low of $418.60 and a 1 year high of $555.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.01.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The aerospace company reported $6.06 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $6.33 by ($0.27). The firm had revenue of $9.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.07 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.24% and a net margin of 10.17%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

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