Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Holdings Raised by Sei Investments Co.

Sei Investments Co. raised its position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 2.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 65,194 shares of the aerospace company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,836 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co.'s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $30,601,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,140,892 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $2,186,681,000 after purchasing an additional 17,596 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Northrop Grumman by 0.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,003,360 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,581,644,000 after buying an additional 18,791 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 6.2% in 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. grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 832,463 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $390,667,000 after buying an additional 23,018 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 102.6% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 735,600 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $388,448,000 after buying an additional 372,500 shares during the period. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.65, for a total transaction of $1,783,687.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 212,852 shares in the company, valued at approximately $101,243,053.80. This trade represents a 1.73 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 464 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.75, for a total value of $213,788.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 245 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $112,883.75. This trade represents a 65.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 4,505 shares of company stock worth $2,126,405. 0.22% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NOC has been the subject of several analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their target price for the company from $500.00 to $575.00 in a research note on Thursday. Citigroup boosted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Wolfe Research raised Northrop Grumman from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $545.00 to $547.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Truist Financial initiated coverage on Northrop Grumman in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a "buy" rating and a $544.00 target price for the company. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $545.06.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NOC traded down $1.96 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $511.86. 730,463 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 866,646. Northrop Grumman Co. has a twelve month low of $418.60 and a twelve month high of $555.57. The firm has a market cap of $74.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.06, a PEG ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.31. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $478.20 and its 200-day moving average price is $492.84. 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 results on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 earnings per share (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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman announced that its board has approved a share repurchase 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.61%. Northrop Grumman's payout ratio is 29.08%.

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.