Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Shares Purchased by Advisors Asset Management Inc.

Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 14.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,581 shares of the aerospace company's stock after buying an additional 1,061 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $4,027,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of NOC. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Albion Financial Group UT acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the third quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Modus Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NOC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wolfe Research upgraded Northrop Grumman from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $558.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Truist Financial began coverage on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $544.00 price target for the company. Argus upgraded Northrop Grumman to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target 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. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $542.88.

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Northrop Grumman Price Performance

NOC stock traded up $11.80 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $506.88. 991,375 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 829,560. 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 market cap of $73.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.89, a PEG ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.31. Northrop Grumman Co. has a fifty-two week low of $418.60 and a fifty-two week high of $555.57. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $475.62 and its 200-day moving average price is $492.94.

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

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $2.06 per share. 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 1.63%. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.08%.

Northrop Grumman announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the aerospace company to reacquire up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 464 shares of the business'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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 245 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $112,883.75. The trade was a 65.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $475.65, for a total transaction 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 approximately $101,243,053.80. This trade represents a 1.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 4,505 shares of company stock worth $2,126,405 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.22% of the company's stock.

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.