Fox Hill Wealth Management Purchases 1,666 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Fox Hill Wealth Management raised its holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 47.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,182 shares of the aerospace company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,666 shares during the period. Northrop Grumman comprises 1.4% of Fox Hill Wealth Management's holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Fox Hill Wealth Management's holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $2,432,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 102.6% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 735,600 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $388,448,000 after acquiring an additional 372,500 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter worth approximately $171,580,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter worth $94,370,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 6.2% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,426,270 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,315,729,000 after buying an additional 141,816 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wedge Capital Management L L P NC bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter worth $66,171,000. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on NOC. Argus upgraded Northrop Grumman to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $558.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Truist Financial assumed coverage on Northrop Grumman in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $544.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded Northrop Grumman from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $542.88.

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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 stock was sold at an average price of $475.65, for a total transaction of $1,783,687.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 212,852 shares in the company, valued at approximately $101,243,053.80. This trade represents a 1.73 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 464 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.75, for a total value of $213,788.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 245 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $112,883.75. This trade represents a 65.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 4,505 shares of company stock valued at $2,126,405 in the last quarter. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

NOC stock traded up $3.02 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $492.25. 2,084,666 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 830,441. 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 $71.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.37, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.31. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52-week low of $418.60 and a 52-week high of $555.57. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $475.18 and a 200-day moving average price of $493.32.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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 return on equity of 26.24% and a net margin of 10.17%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders 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 1.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. Northrop Grumman's payout ratio is presently 29.08%.

Northrop Grumman announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the aerospace company to buy up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.