Prudential Financial Inc. Has $153.93 Million Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Prudential Financial Inc. lifted its position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 225.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 327,998 shares of the aerospace company's stock after buying an additional 227,314 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc. owned about 0.23% of Northrop Grumman worth $153,926,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 192 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $429.08, for a total transaction of $82,383.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 709 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $304,217.72. The trade was a 21.31 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the firm'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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 212,852 shares in the company, valued at $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. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 4,505 shares of company stock worth $2,126,405. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

NYSE:NOC traded down $1.96 on Friday, hitting $511.86. The company's stock had a trading volume of 730,463 shares, compared to its average volume of 866,646. 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 Co. has a one year low of $418.60 and a one year high of $555.57. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $478.20 and a two-hundred day moving average of $493.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $74.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.31.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 26.24% and a net margin of 10.17%. Research analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the aerospace company to buy up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

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 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 payout ratio is 29.08%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on NOC. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of 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 Northrop Grumman to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Royal Bank of Canada raised Northrop Grumman from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $500.00 to $575.00 in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $500.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Eight 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 data from MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $545.06.

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.