LPL Financial LLC Buys 18,854 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

LPL Financial LLC boosted its stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 7.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 261,837 shares of the aerospace company's stock after acquiring an additional 18,854 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC owned 0.18% of Northrop Grumman worth $122,877,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in NOC. Richwood Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Richwood Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,374 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,583,000 after buying an additional 133 shares during the period. AXQ Capital LP bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,528,000. Intellus Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter worth approximately $341,000. Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 65,194 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $30,601,000 after purchasing an additional 1,836 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 13.8% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 9,610 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $4,510,000 after purchasing an additional 1,166 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 212,852 shares in the company, valued at approximately $101,243,053.80. This represents a 1.73 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 464 shares of the business's 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 245 shares in the company, valued at $112,883.75. The trade was a 65.44 % 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 $2,126,405 over the last quarter. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:NOC traded down $3.61 during trading on Friday, hitting $510.21. The company's stock had a trading volume of 69,477 shares, compared to its average volume of 830,367. The company has a 50-day moving average of $477.61 and a 200-day moving average of $493.12. 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 cap of $73.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.00, a P/E/G 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.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 earnings per share 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%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman declared that its board has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the aerospace company to repurchase 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 shares are undervalued.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. Northrop Grumman's payout ratio is 29.08%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Northrop Grumman from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Argus upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Northrop Grumman from $545.00 to $547.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, UBS Group lowered 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. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $545.06.

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.