Raymond James Financial Inc. Makes New Investment in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 365,615 shares of the aerospace company's stock, valued at approximately $171,580,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned about 0.25% of Northrop Grumman at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NOC has been the topic of several recent research reports. Truist Financial initiated coverage on Northrop Grumman in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $544.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group dropped their target price on Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $558.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays lowered their price target on Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $500.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $545.00 to $547.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $542.88.

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Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In related news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 192 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were 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 directly owns 709 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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 available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 owns 212,852 shares of the company's stock, valued at $101,243,053.80. This represents a 1.73 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 4,505 shares of company stock valued at $2,126,405 over the last quarter. 0.22% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Northrop Grumman Stock Down 0.1 %

NYSE:NOC traded down $0.74 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $494.71. The company had a trading volume of 1,554,908 shares, compared to its average volume of 819,140. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12-month low of $418.60 and a 12-month high of $555.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.46, a PEG 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. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $470.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $494.93.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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, sell-side analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a dividend of $2.06 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.67%. Northrop Grumman's payout ratio is currently 29.08%.

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

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.