UniSuper Management Pty Ltd Purchases 2,308 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

UniSuper Management Pty Ltd increased its stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 29.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,080 shares of the aerospace company's stock after acquiring an additional 2,308 shares during the quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd's holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $4,730,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. raised its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 19.9% during the 4th quarter. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. now owns 16,660 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $7,818,000 after buying an additional 2,770 shares during the period. Trinity Street Asset Management LLP raised its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Trinity Street Asset Management LLP now owns 48,367 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $22,698,000 after acquiring an additional 1,786 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $604,000. Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI boosted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 1,316.9% in the 4th quarter. Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI now owns 16,139 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $7,574,000 after purchasing an additional 15,000 shares during the period. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 74.4% during the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 156,149 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $73,279,000 after purchasing an additional 66,638 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

NOC has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group lowered their price target on Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $558.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Argus raised shares of Northrop Grumman to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Royal Bank of Canada raised Northrop Grumman from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price target for the company from $500.00 to $575.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Truist Financial initiated coverage on Northrop Grumman in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a "buy" rating and a $544.00 price objective for the company. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $545.06.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 192 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the vice president now owns 709 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $304,217.72. This represents a 21.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 212,852 shares in the company, valued at approximately $101,243,053.80. The trade was a 1.73 % decrease in their position. 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. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company's stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Northrop Grumman stock traded down $1.12 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $511.98. 192,172 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 864,177. Northrop Grumman Co. has a fifty-two week low of $418.60 and a fifty-two week high of $555.57. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $478.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $492.59. The stock has a market cap of $74.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.08, a P/E/G 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 (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 the consensus estimate of $6.27 by $0.12. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.24% and a net margin of 10.17%. On average, research analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

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

Northrop Grumman announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share 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 buy up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.