Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Shares Acquired by Korea Investment CORP

Korea Investment CORP lifted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 32.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 129,960 shares of the aerospace company's stock after purchasing an additional 31,607 shares during the quarter. Korea Investment CORP owned about 0.09% of Northrop Grumman worth $60,989,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Northrop Grumman by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,677,781 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $5,949,556,000 after purchasing an additional 56,807 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,140,892 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $2,186,681,000 after buying an additional 17,596 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,003,360 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,581,644,000 after buying an additional 18,791 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 6.2% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,426,270 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,315,729,000 after acquiring an additional 141,816 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 832,463 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $390,667,000 after acquiring an additional 23,018 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company's stock.

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Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 192 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 709 shares of the company's stock, valued at $304,217.72. This represents a 21.31 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the firm's 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 212,852 shares in the company, valued at $101,243,053.80. This represents a 1.73 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 4,505 shares of company stock worth $2,126,405 over the last ninety days. 0.22% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NOC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Citigroup lifted 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. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $545.00 to $547.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Argus raised shares of Northrop Grumman to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Truist Financial began coverage on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $544.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Wolfe Research raised shares of Northrop Grumman from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $545.06.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 0.2 %

NYSE NOC traded up $0.82 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $512.83. 710,530 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 866,771. The stock has a market capitalization of $74.24 billion, a PE ratio of 18.10, a PEG ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12 month low of $418.60 and a 12 month high of $555.57. The company has a 50 day moving average of $478.97 and a two-hundred day moving average of $492.59.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.27 by $0.12. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 26.24%. As a group, equities analysts expect 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 company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a dividend of $2.06 per share. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.