Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC Buys New Holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 2,098 shares of the aerospace company's stock, valued at approximately $985,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $171,580,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Northrop Grumman by 24.7% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,733,680 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $813,599,000 after buying an additional 343,018 shares during the last quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. raised its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 225.8% in the 4th quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 327,998 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $153,926,000 after acquiring an additional 227,314 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter worth $94,370,000. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 21.5% during the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 967,335 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $453,961,000 after acquiring an additional 170,976 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on NOC. Argus raised Northrop Grumman to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $545.00 to $547.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $558.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised Northrop Grumman from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price target for the company from $500.00 to $575.00 in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $548.88.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 464 shares of the company'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 completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 245 shares in the company, valued at $112,883.75. This represents a 65.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The stock was 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 owns 212,852 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. Insiders have sold 4,505 shares of company stock valued at $2,127,182 in the last 90 days. 0.23% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

NYSE NOC traded up $2.45 on Friday, hitting $539.96. 1,102,225 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 866,793. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The company has a market cap of $77.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.05, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.20. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1-year low of $418.60 and a 1-year high of $555.57. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $488.43 and a two-hundred day moving average of $492.14.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.27 by $0.12. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.24% and a net margin of 10.17%. On average, equities analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.53%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Northrop Grumman's payout ratio is 29.08%.

Northrop Grumman Company 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.