Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Shares Purchased by Capital International Investors

Capital International Investors raised its stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 5.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 8,239,434 shares of the aerospace company's stock after acquiring an additional 461,307 shares during the period. Capital International Investors owned approximately 5.69% of Northrop Grumman worth $3,866,133,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in NOC. Capital International Sarl raised its stake in Northrop Grumman by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Sarl now owns 43,949 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $20,625,000 after purchasing an additional 495 shares in the last quarter. Ally Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter valued at about $939,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 351,670 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $165,035,000 after acquiring an additional 8,061 shares during the last quarter. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 7.3% in the fourth quarter. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC now owns 42,818 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $20,094,000 after acquiring an additional 2,898 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farringdon Capital Ltd. bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter worth approximately $396,000. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In other news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the company'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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 212,852 shares of the company's stock, valued at $101,243,053.80. This represents a 1.73 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 192 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 709 shares in the company, valued at $304,217.72. This 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 valued at $2,127,182 in the last 90 days. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $600.00 to $550.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $424.00 to $521.00 in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $580.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Nine 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, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $545.71.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

NYSE NOC traded up $10.11 on Wednesday, hitting $474.19. 993,825 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 883,043. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $489.82 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $491.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $68.35 billion, a PE ratio of 16.73, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.20. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1-year low of $418.60 and a 1-year 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 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%. As a group, analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given 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 1.74%. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.