Geode Capital Management LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 0.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,025,263 shares of the aerospace company's stock after acquiring an additional 21,903 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC owned 2.09% of Northrop Grumman worth $1,417,850,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sapient Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Sapient Capital LLC now owns 2,049 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $962,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the period. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG boosted its position in Northrop Grumman by 2.2% during the fourth 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 last quarter. Mather Group LLC. grew its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 2.6% during 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 during the period. Jacobi Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.2% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 5.9% during the 4th 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company's stock.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on NOC. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research 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. Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $500.00 to $575.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Truist Financial assumed coverage on Northrop Grumman in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $544.00 target price for the company. Eight 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $545.06.

Northrop Grumman Stock Down 5.6 %

Shares of NYSE:NOC traded down $28.95 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $486.23. 1,692,381 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 868,990. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $479.48 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $492.88. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12-month low of $418.60 and a 12-month high of $555.57. The stock has a market cap 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. 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 (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current year.

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 of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.69%. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.08%.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 192 shares of the company'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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 709 shares in the company, valued at $304,217.72. This represents a 21.31 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the firm'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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 212,852 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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 90 days, insiders sold 4,505 shares of company stock worth $2,126,405. Insiders own 0.22% of the company's stock.

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.