Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Raises Holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 8.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 234,364 shares of the aerospace company's stock after acquiring an additional 18,143 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned approximately 0.16% of Northrop Grumman worth $109,640,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sapient Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Sapient Capital LLC now owns 2,049 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $962,000 after buying an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG grew its stake in Northrop Grumman by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 1,006 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $472,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 900 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $422,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC raised its position in Northrop Grumman by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 1,987 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $933,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the period. Finally, Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC now owns 432 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $203,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company's stock.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NOC stock traded up $0.82 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $512.83. 710,530 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 866,771. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52-week low of $418.60 and a 52-week high of $555.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $74.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.31. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $478.97 and its 200-day moving average price is $492.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.91.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last posted 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, research analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $2.06 per share. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.08%.

Northrop Grumman announced that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the aerospace company to purchase up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In other news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 464 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 245 shares in the company, valued at $112,883.75. This trade represents a 65.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 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 sold a total of 4,505 shares of company stock worth $2,126,405 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.22% of the company's stock.

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.