Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Shares Sold by Alliancebernstein L.P.

Alliancebernstein L.P. trimmed its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 33.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 300,778 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 153,079 shares during the quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned 0.21% of Northrop Grumman worth $141,152,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. boosted its position in Northrop Grumman by 10.3% in the 4th quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 450 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $212,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,164,700 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,954,452,000 after purchasing an additional 23,808 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Northrop Grumman by 22.2% in the fourth quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 17,855 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $8,379,000 after purchasing an additional 3,240 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 21.5% during the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 967,335 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $453,961,000 after purchasing an additional 170,976 shares during the period. Finally, Bcwm LLC purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter worth $8,060,000. 83.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 192 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $429.08, for a total transaction of $82,383.36. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 709 shares in the company, valued at approximately $304,217.72. This trade represents a 21.31 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 4,505 shares of company stock worth $2,126,405 over the last quarter. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Northrop Grumman stock traded down $28.95 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $486.23. 1,692,381 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 868,990. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.91. Northrop Grumman Co. has a fifty-two week low of $418.60 and a fifty-two week high of $555.57. The company 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. The firm's fifty day moving average is $479.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $492.88.

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, beating 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%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.69%. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.08%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on NOC. Argus upgraded Northrop Grumman to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Truist Financial initiated coverage on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $544.00 price target for the company. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $545.06.

Northrop Grumman 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.