Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. Boosts Holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. increased its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 19.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 16,660 shares of the aerospace company's stock after buying an additional 2,770 shares during the quarter. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co.'s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $7,818,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NOC. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.4% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,140,892 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $2,186,681,000 after acquiring an additional 17,596 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,003,360 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,581,644,000 after purchasing an additional 18,791 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in Northrop Grumman by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,426,270 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,315,729,000 after purchasing an additional 141,816 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.4% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 809,445 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $427,444,000 after buying an additional 3,211 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP lifted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 102.6% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 735,600 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $388,448,000 after buying an additional 372,500 shares during the period. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Northrop Grumman Price Performance

NOC traded up $2.20 during trading on Friday, hitting $468.75. The company's stock had a trading volume of 819,988 shares, compared to its average volume of 831,728. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $476.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $499.20. Northrop Grumman Co. has a twelve month low of $418.60 and a twelve month high of $555.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $67.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.54, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.35. 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, 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%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 27.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a dividend of $2.06 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.76%. Northrop Grumman's payout ratio is currently 29.08%.

Northrop Grumman declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the aerospace company to purchase up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on NOC shares. StockNews.com downgraded Northrop Grumman from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Truist Financial initiated coverage on Northrop Grumman in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $544.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, 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 research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $544.31.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total value of $616,067.08. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 537 shares in the company, valued at $286,183.41. This represents a 68.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders have sold a total of 1,255 shares of company stock worth $662,868 over the last quarter. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.