Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Grows Stock Holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 1.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 105,064 shares of the aerospace company's stock after buying an additional 1,089 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp owned approximately 0.07% of Northrop Grumman worth $49,305,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

NOC stock traded down $1.96 during trading on Friday, reaching $511.86. The company had a trading volume of 730,463 shares, compared to its average volume of 866,646. The company has a market cap of $74.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.31. Northrop Grumman Co. has a twelve month low of $418.60 and a twelve month high of $555.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.01. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $478.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $492.84.

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Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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, sell-side analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.61%. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio is presently 29.08%.

Northrop Grumman declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the aerospace company to purchase up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Argus raised Northrop Grumman to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Northrop Grumman from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $500.00 to $575.00 in a report on Thursday. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $625.00 to $557.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $545.06.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In related news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 192 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $429.08, for a total value of $82,383.36. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 709 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $304,217.72. This trade represents a 21.31 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 212,852 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $101,243,053.80. This trade represents a 1.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 4,505 shares of company stock valued at $2,126,405. 0.22% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Northrop Grumman Company 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.