Natixis Advisors LLC Raises Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 2.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 63,371 shares of the aerospace company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,451 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC's holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $29,739,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Albion Financial Group UT bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Modus Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 0.6 %

NOC stock traded up $3.02 during trading on Friday, reaching $492.25. The company had a trading volume of 2,084,664 shares, compared to its average volume of 829,901. The business has a 50 day moving average of $474.50 and a 200 day moving average of $493.74. 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 company has a market cap of $71.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.37, a PEG ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.31. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52 week low of $418.60 and a 52 week high of $555.57.

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Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the aerospace company to repurchase up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a $2.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.67%. Northrop Grumman's payout ratio is 29.08%.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 192 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $429.08, for a total value of $82,383.36. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 709 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $304,217.72. The trade was a 21.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the company'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 owns 212,852 shares in the company, valued at approximately $101,243,053.80. The trade was a 1.73 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 4,505 shares of company stock valued at $2,126,405 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on NOC shares. Truist Financial initiated coverage on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a "buy" rating and a $544.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com cut Northrop Grumman from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Argus raised Northrop Grumman to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. 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 report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $545.00 to $547.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $542.88.

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.