Summit Global Investments boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 972.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 18,224 shares of the aerospace company's stock after buying an additional 16,525 shares during the quarter. Summit Global Investments' holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $8,552,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 102.6% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 735,600 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $388,448,000 after buying an additional 372,500 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter worth about $171,580,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter valued at about $94,370,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position 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 acquiring an additional 141,816 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wedge Capital Management L L P NC purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter worth about $66,171,000. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
NOC has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wolfe Research raised shares of Northrop Grumman from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Truist Financial started coverage on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $544.00 price target for the company. Argus raised Northrop Grumman to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. StockNews.com lowered Northrop Grumman from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Susquehanna lowered their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $625.00 to $557.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $542.88.
View Our Latest Report on Northrop Grumman
Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman
In other news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 192 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $429.08, for a total value of $82,383.36. Following the sale, the vice president now 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 accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 represents a 1.73 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 4,505 shares of company stock worth $2,126,405. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company's stock.
Northrop Grumman Stock Performance
NYSE NOC traded down $0.36 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $506.26. The company had a trading volume of 821,063 shares, compared to its average volume of 831,462. The business has a 50 day moving average of $476.25 and a 200-day moving average of $492.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.01. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1-year low of $418.60 and a 1-year high of $555.57. The company has a market cap of $73.28 billion, a PE ratio of 17.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.31.
Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last released 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%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 EPS for the current year.
Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $2.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.63%. Northrop Grumman's payout ratio is 29.08%.
Northrop Grumman announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the aerospace company to reacquire up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.
About Northrop Grumman
(
Free Report)
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.
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