Horizon Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 13.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,900 shares of the aerospace company's stock after buying an additional 592 shares during the quarter. Horizon Investments LLC's holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $2,300,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Albion Financial Group UT bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Northrop Grumman during the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Modus Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company's stock.
Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman
In other news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 192 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $429.08, for a total transaction of $82,383.36. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 709 shares in the company, valued at $304,217.72. This represents a 21.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 value of $1,783,687.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 212,852 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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 three months, insiders sold 4,505 shares of company stock worth $2,126,405. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.
Northrop Grumman Price Performance
Shares of NOC stock traded up $3.02 on Friday, reaching $492.25. The company had a trading volume of 2,084,666 shares, compared to its average volume of 830,441. The stock has a market capitalization of $71.26 billion, a PE ratio of 17.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.31. 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 business's 50-day moving average is $475.18 and its 200 day moving average is $493.32. Northrop Grumman Co. has a one year low of $418.60 and a one year high of $555.57.
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 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%. Equities research analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Northrop Grumman announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the aerospace company to repurchase up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.
Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $2.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.67%. Northrop Grumman's payout ratio is presently 29.08%.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of research firms recently commented on NOC. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Truist Financial began coverage on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a "buy" rating and a $544.00 target price on the stock. Wolfe Research raised Northrop Grumman from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays lowered their price objective 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. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $558.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $542.88.
Get Our Latest Report on NOC
About Northrop Grumman
(
Free Report)
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.
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