Invesco Ltd. Buys 343,018 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 24.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,733,680 shares of the aerospace company's stock after buying an additional 343,018 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. owned 1.20% of Northrop Grumman worth $813,599,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of NOC traded up $18.05 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $534.14. The stock had a trading volume of 1,178,801 shares, compared to its average volume of 868,794. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12 month low of $418.60 and a 12 month high of $555.57. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $481.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $491.44. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $76.99 billion, a PE ratio of 18.85, a PEG ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.20.

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Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 26.24%. Analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio is presently 29.08%.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In related news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 464 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.75, for a total value of $213,788.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 245 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $112,883.75. This represents a 65.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the firm's 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 directly owns 212,852 shares in the company, valued at approximately $101,243,053.80. This represents a 1.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 4,505 shares of company stock valued at $2,127,182 over the last quarter. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on NOC. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $545.00 to $547.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Barclays dropped their target price on 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 Northrop Grumman from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $424.00 to $521.00 in a research note on Friday. 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 company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $543.65.

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.