Envestnet Asset Management Inc. Increases Stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 7.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 201,480 shares of the aerospace company's stock after acquiring an additional 13,423 shares during the quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. owned about 0.14% of Northrop Grumman worth $94,552,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In other news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 212,852 shares in the company, valued at $101,243,053.80. This trade represents a 1.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 192 shares of the company'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 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 4,505 shares of company stock valued at $2,127,182. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company's stock.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. StockNews.com lowered Northrop Grumman from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Northrop Grumman from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price target for the company from $500.00 to $575.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Barclays dropped their price target on Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $500.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $424.00 to $521.00 in a research report on Friday. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $543.65.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NOC traded up $1.16 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $535.15. 152,709 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,032,908. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $481.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $491.44. Northrop Grumman Co. has a twelve month low of $418.60 and a twelve month high of $555.57. The firm has a market cap of $77.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.88, a PEG ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.20.

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

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a dividend of $2.06 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.54%. Northrop Grumman's dividend 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.