GWN Securities Inc. Acquires New Holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

GWN Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 997 shares of the aerospace company's stock, valued at approximately $494,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Glenview Trust co lifted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 23.8% during the 4th quarter. Glenview Trust co now owns 1,866 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $876,000 after purchasing an additional 359 shares during the period. Patten & Patten Inc. TN increased its stake in Northrop Grumman by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN now owns 3,288 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,543,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. lifted its position in Northrop Grumman by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 2,237 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,050,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. boosted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 8,008 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $3,758,000 after buying an additional 305 shares during the last quarter. Finally, one8zero8 LLC purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter valued at about $329,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 192 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 $304,217.72. This trade represents a 21.31 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the business'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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 212,852 shares of the company's stock, valued at $101,243,053.80. This trade represents a 1.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 4,505 shares of company stock valued at $2,126,405. Insiders own 0.22% of the company's stock.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on NOC shares. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $500.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $545.00 to $547.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Truist Financial began coverage on Northrop Grumman in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $544.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $542.88.

Northrop Grumman Stock Down 0.5 %

NYSE:NOC traded down $2.54 on Thursday, reaching $488.98. The stock had a trading volume of 685,595 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,014,071. The stock has a market cap of $70.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.31. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12-month low of $418.60 and a 12-month high of $555.57. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The company has a 50-day moving average of $473.98 and a 200 day moving average of $493.77.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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, research analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the aerospace company to reacquire up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid 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 1.69%. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.