Finward Bancorp Acquires New Shares in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Finward Bancorp acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 610 shares of the aerospace company's stock, valued at approximately $286,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of NOC. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 19.9% in the fourth quarter. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. now owns 16,660 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $7,818,000 after buying an additional 2,770 shares during the last quarter. Trinity Street Asset Management LLP increased its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Trinity Street Asset Management LLP now owns 48,367 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $22,698,000 after acquiring an additional 1,786 shares during the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group raised its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 12.8% during the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 8,857 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $4,132,000 after acquiring an additional 1,008 shares in the last quarter. RFG Bristol Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter worth $284,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,025,263 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,417,850,000 after purchasing an additional 21,903 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 212,852 shares in the company, valued at approximately $101,243,053.80. This represents a 1.73 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 464 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.75, for a total transaction of $213,788.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 245 shares of the company's stock, valued at $112,883.75. This trade represents a 65.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 4,505 shares of company stock valued at $2,127,182. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on NOC shares. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $558.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Argus raised shares of Northrop Grumman to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Citigroup upped their target price on Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Royal Bank of Canada raised Northrop Grumman from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $500.00 to $575.00 in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $580.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $548.88.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Northrop Grumman stock traded up $2.45 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $539.96. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,102,225 shares, compared to its average volume of 866,793. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12 month low of $418.60 and a 12 month high of $555.57. 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 stock's 50-day moving average price is $488.43 and its 200-day moving average price is $492.14. The company has a market capitalization of $77.83 billion, a PE ratio of 19.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.20.

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

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued 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 dividend yield of 1.53%. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio is 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.