Congress Wealth Management LLC DE Makes New $523,000 Investment in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Congress Wealth Management LLC DE purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 1,114 shares of the aerospace company's stock, valued at approximately $523,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NOC. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman in the third quarter worth $36,000. Albion Financial Group UT bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Modus Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter worth about $42,000. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 464 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.75, for a total value of $213,788.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 245 shares of the company's stock, valued at $112,883.75. The trade was a 65.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 212,852 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $101,243,053.80. This represents a 1.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 4,505 shares of company stock worth $2,126,405. 0.22% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on NOC shares. Truist Financial began coverage on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a "buy" rating and a $544.00 price objective for the company. Susquehanna lowered their target price on Northrop Grumman from $625.00 to $557.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. UBS Group cut their price target on Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $558.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com downgraded Northrop Grumman from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Argus upgraded Northrop Grumman to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $545.06.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NOC traded down $2.38 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $510.72. The company had a trading volume of 97,049 shares, compared to its average volume of 863,878. The firm's fifty day moving average is $478.97 and its 200 day moving average is $492.59. 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 market capitalization of $73.93 billion, a PE ratio of 17.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.31. Northrop Grumman Co. has a twelve month low of $418.60 and a twelve month high of $555.57.

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 return on equity of 26.24% and a net margin of 10.17%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the aerospace company to repurchase up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

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

Northrop Grumman Company 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.