National Wealth Management Group LLC Invests $336,000 in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

National Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 717 shares of the aerospace company's stock, valued at approximately $336,000.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of NOC. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Northrop Grumman by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,677,781 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $5,949,556,000 after purchasing an additional 56,807 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,164,700 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,954,452,000 after buying an additional 23,808 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 0.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,003,360 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,581,644,000 after acquiring an additional 18,791 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,533,378 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,188,889,000 after acquiring an additional 107,108 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 21.5% during the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 967,335 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $453,961,000 after acquiring an additional 170,976 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company's stock.

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Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of NOC traded down $28.95 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $486.23. 1,692,381 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 860,929. 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 fifty-two week low of $418.60 and a fifty-two week high of $555.57. The business's 50 day moving average is $479.27 and its two-hundred day moving average is $492.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.16, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.31.

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 for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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, 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 approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the aerospace company to purchase up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.69%. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio is currently 29.08%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 464 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.75, for a total transaction of $213,788.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 245 shares in the company, valued at approximately $112,883.75. The trade was a 65.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the firm'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 directly owns 212,852 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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. In the last quarter, insiders sold 4,505 shares of company stock worth $2,126,405. 0.22% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NOC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $500.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Argus raised Northrop Grumman to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $558.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price 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, Truist Financial assumed coverage on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $544.00 price target on the stock. 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 company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $545.06.

About Northrop Grumman

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.