Vanguard Group Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 0.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,677,781 shares of the aerospace company's stock after buying an additional 56,807 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 8.76% of Northrop Grumman worth $5,949,556,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Albion Financial Group UT purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Modus Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company's stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 1.7 %

NYSE NOC traded up $8.69 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $515.83. 266,323 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 830,640. The company has a market cap of $74.67 billion, a PE ratio of 18.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.31. 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 Co. has a 52 week low of $418.60 and a 52 week high of $555.57. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $476.94 and its 200-day simple moving average is $492.97.

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Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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, equities research analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a $2.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.60%. Northrop Grumman's payout ratio is 29.08%.

Northrop Grumman announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the aerospace company to reacquire up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on NOC. Barclays lowered their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $500.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $500.00 to $575.00 in a research note on Thursday. Argus upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $545.00 to $547.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. 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's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $545.06.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 192 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $429.08, for a total transaction of $82,383.36. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 709 shares in the company, valued at approximately $304,217.72. The trade was a 21.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were 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 directly owns 212,852 shares of the company's stock, valued at $101,243,053.80. The trade was a 1.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 4,505 shares of company stock worth $2,126,405 in the last ninety days. 0.22% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.