Capital World Investors Buys 756 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Capital World Investors raised its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 0.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,927,672 shares of the aerospace company's stock after buying an additional 756 shares during the quarter. Capital World Investors owned about 1.33% of Northrop Grumman worth $904,637,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in NOC. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Albion Financial Group UT bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Modus Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 291.7% during the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 94 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the period. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on NOC. StockNews.com cut Northrop Grumman from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $583.00 to $571.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Argus raised shares of Northrop Grumman to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Northrop Grumman from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $424.00 to $521.00 in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $575.00 to $550.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $544.24.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In related news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 192 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 709 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $304,217.72. This trade represents a 21.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The stock was 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 owns 212,852 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $101,243,053.80. This trade represents a 1.73 % 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 $2,127,182 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company's stock.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 1.8 %

NOC stock traded up $8.19 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $472.27. 1,929,122 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 884,691. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $489.82 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $491.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The company has a market capitalization of $68.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.66, a PEG ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.20. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The aerospace company reported $6.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $6.33 by ($0.27). The firm had revenue of $9.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.07 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 26.24%. Equities research analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.74%. Northrop Grumman's payout ratio is currently 29.08%.

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.