Stenger Family Office LLC Purchases New Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Stenger Family Office LLC bought a new position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 3,168 shares of the aerospace company's stock, valued at approximately $1,487,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. boosted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 19.9% in the 4th quarter. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. now owns 16,660 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $7,818,000 after purchasing an additional 2,770 shares in the last quarter. Trinity Street Asset Management LLP raised its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Trinity Street Asset Management LLP now owns 48,367 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $22,698,000 after buying an additional 1,786 shares during the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group raised its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 12.8% in the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 8,857 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $4,132,000 after buying an additional 1,008 shares during the last quarter. RFG Bristol Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter worth approximately $284,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,025,263 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,417,850,000 after buying an additional 21,903 shares during the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on NOC shares. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $558.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Susquehanna decreased their price target on Northrop Grumman from $625.00 to $557.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Wolfe Research raised Northrop Grumman from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Argus raised Northrop Grumman to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $580.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $548.88.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In other news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.65, for a total value 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 464 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.75, for a total value of $213,788.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 245 shares of the company's stock, valued at $112,883.75. This represents a 65.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 4,505 shares of company stock worth $2,127,182. 0.23% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:NOC traded up $2.45 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $539.96. The company had a trading volume of 1,102,225 shares, compared to its average volume of 866,793. The company has a market cap of $77.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.05, a PEG ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The company has a fifty day moving average of $488.43 and a two-hundred day moving average of $492.14. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12-month low of $418.60 and a 12-month high of $555.57.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 EPS for the quarter, topping 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, equities 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a dividend of $2.06 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.53%. Northrop Grumman's payout ratio is 29.08%.

Northrop Grumman Company 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.