American Century Companies Inc. Has $4.51 Million Holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 13.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,610 shares of the aerospace company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,166 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc.'s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $4,510,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its stake in Northrop Grumman by 45.6% in the 4th quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 12,980 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $6,091,000 after buying an additional 4,066 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 7.4% during the 4th quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 2,456 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,153,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP increased its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 240.9% in the fourth quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 26,155 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $12,274,000 after acquiring an additional 18,483 shares during the last quarter. Summit Global Investments raised its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 972.6% during the fourth quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 18,224 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $8,552,000 after acquiring an additional 16,525 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Magnetar Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter valued at $297,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company's stock.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on NOC. UBS Group cut their price target on Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $558.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Barclays dropped their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $500.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $500.00 to $575.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Argus upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $545.00 to $547.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $545.06.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of NOC stock traded up $4.99 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $517.29. 1,071,779 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 867,563. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $480.81 and a 200-day moving average price of $491.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $74.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.25, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. Northrop Grumman Co. has a fifty-two week low of $418.60 and a fifty-two week high of $555.57.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 earnings per share (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%. Analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $2.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.59%. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.08%.

Northrop Grumman announced that its board has authorized 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 buy up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 192 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $429.08, for a total value of $82,383.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 709 shares of the company's stock, valued at $304,217.72. This represents a 21.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $475.65, for a total value of $1,783,687.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 212,852 shares in the company, valued at $101,243,053.80. The trade was a 1.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 4,505 shares of company stock worth $2,127,182. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.