Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Shares Purchased by Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 61.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 150,960 shares of the aerospace company's stock after acquiring an additional 57,571 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership owned approximately 0.10% of Northrop Grumman worth $70,844,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of NOC. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,677,781 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $5,949,556,000 after acquiring an additional 56,807 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.4% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,140,892 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $2,186,681,000 after purchasing an additional 17,596 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,003,360 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,581,644,000 after purchasing an additional 18,791 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,426,270 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,315,729,000 after purchasing an additional 141,816 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 832,463 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $390,667,000 after buying an additional 23,018 shares during the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In other news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.65, for a total transaction of $1,783,687.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 212,852 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $101,243,053.80. The trade was a 1.73 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 192 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at $304,217.72. This trade represents a 21.31 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 4,505 shares of company stock valued at $2,126,405 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on 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 Northrop Grumman from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Wolfe Research raised shares of Northrop Grumman from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Argus raised Northrop Grumman to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Truist Financial assumed coverage on Northrop Grumman in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $544.00 price objective for the company. Eight 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $545.06.

Northrop Grumman Trading Down 0.2 %

NYSE:NOC traded down $0.94 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $512.16. The company's stock had a trading volume of 749,699 shares, compared to its average volume of 866,567. The firm has a market capitalization of $74.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.07, a PEG ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.31. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1 year low of $418.60 and a 1 year high of $555.57. 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 firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $479.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $492.73.

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

Northrop Grumman announced that its board 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 repurchase up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a dividend of $2.06 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.61%. Northrop Grumman's payout ratio is currently 29.08%.

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.