Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Shares Purchased by Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD

Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 28.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,030,644 shares of the aerospace company's stock after buying an additional 450,858 shares during the quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD owned 1.40% of Northrop Grumman worth $952,962,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,677,781 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $5,949,556,000 after buying an additional 56,807 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its stake 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 worth $3,866,133,000 after acquiring an additional 461,307 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,164,700 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,954,452,000 after purchasing an additional 23,808 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Northrop Grumman by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,025,263 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,417,850,000 after purchasing an additional 21,903 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,807,223 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,317,402,000 after purchasing an additional 109,308 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 464 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction dated 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 $112,883.75. The trade was a 65.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 4,505 shares of company stock valued at $2,127,182 in the last three months. 0.23% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Shares of NOC stock traded down $1.80 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $481.51. The company had a trading volume of 228,730 shares, compared to its average volume of 886,519. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12-month low of $418.60 and a 12-month 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 stock has a fifty day moving average of $492.65 and a 200-day moving average of $489.38. The company has a market capitalization of $69.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.01, a PEG ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.20.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The aerospace company reported $6.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $6.33 by ($0.27). The company had revenue of $9.47 billion during 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, equities analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a dividend of $2.06 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.71%. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio is currently 32.52%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on NOC shares. Argus raised shares of Northrop Grumman to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $575.00 to $550.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. UBS Group cut their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $583.00 to $571.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Truist Financial dropped their price target on Northrop Grumman from $600.00 to $550.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised Northrop Grumman from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $424.00 to $521.00 in a report on Friday, April 11th. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target 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.