Nuveen Asset Management LLC Boosts Stock Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Nuveen Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 15.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 879,959 shares of the aerospace company's stock after acquiring an additional 117,036 shares during the quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.61% of Northrop Grumman worth $412,956,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NOC. Sapient Capital LLC raised its stake in Northrop Grumman by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Sapient Capital LLC now owns 2,049 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $962,000 after buying an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG increased its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 1,006 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $472,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. raised its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 900 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $422,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 1,987 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $933,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC now owns 432 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $203,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In other news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 192 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 709 shares of the company's stock, valued at $304,217.72. This trade represents a 21.31% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the business'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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 212,852 shares in the company, valued at approximately $101,243,053.80. This represents a 1.73% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 4,505 shares of company stock valued at $2,127,632. Insiders own 0.23% of the company's stock.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Shares of NOC traded down $2.71 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $470.46. 950,082 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 900,079. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52 week low of $418.60 and a 52 week 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. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $496.53 and a 200-day moving average of $485.48. The stock has a market cap of $67.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.60, a PEG ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.15.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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). The firm had revenue of $9.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.07 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 26.24%. On average, analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $2.06 dividend. 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%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on NOC. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price target for the company from $424.00 to $521.00 in a report on Friday, April 11th. Argus raised shares of Northrop Grumman to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $525.00 price target on Northrop Grumman and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $575.00 to $550.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Northrop Grumman from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a 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 given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $545.31.

About Northrop Grumman

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.