604 Shares in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Acquired by RFG Bristol Wealth Advisors LLC

RFG Bristol Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 604 shares of the aerospace company's stock, valued at approximately $284,000.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 102.6% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 735,600 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $388,448,000 after acquiring an additional 372,500 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter worth about $171,580,000. Prudential Financial Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 225.8% during the fourth quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 327,998 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $153,926,000 after acquiring an additional 227,314 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter valued at $94,370,000. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 21.5% in the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 967,335 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $453,961,000 after buying an additional 170,976 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NOC has been the topic of several recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $500.00 to $575.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Susquehanna reduced their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $625.00 to $557.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Argus raised Northrop Grumman to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $558.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Wolfe Research raised Northrop Grumman from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $545.06.

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Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:NOC traded down $28.95 during trading on Friday, reaching $486.23. The company had a trading volume of 1,692,381 shares, compared to its average volume of 863,610. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $479.27 and its 200 day moving average price is $492.64. Northrop Grumman Co. has a fifty-two week low of $418.60 and a fifty-two week high of $555.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.31.

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

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a dividend of $2.06 per share. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.69%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio is currently 29.08%.

Northrop Grumman declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the aerospace company to buy up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 464 shares of the company's 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 sale, the vice president now owns 245 shares of the company's stock, valued at $112,883.75. This represents a 65.44 % 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, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company's stock, 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. Insiders have sold 4,505 shares of company stock valued at $2,126,405 in the last quarter. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.