Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Shares Bought by World Investment Advisors

World Investment Advisors raised its position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 92.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,396 shares of the aerospace company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,154 shares during the quarter. World Investment Advisors' holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $1,124,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of NOC. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC raised its position in Northrop Grumman by 42.9% during the 3rd quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 3,715 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,962,000 after buying an additional 1,115 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp raised its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 3.2% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 117,161 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $61,877,000 after purchasing an additional 3,666 shares during the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC lifted its position in Northrop Grumman by 111.4% during the third quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 9,419 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $4,974,000 after purchasing an additional 4,964 shares during the period. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 26.3% during the 3rd quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,732 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $914,000 after purchasing an additional 361 shares during the period. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 19,433 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $10,262,000 after buying an additional 1,095 shares during the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Citigroup raised their target price on Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Susquehanna cut their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $625.00 to $557.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $500.00 to $575.00 in a report on Thursday, March 27th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Northrop Grumman from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, 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 research report on Friday, January 31st. Eight 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 MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $545.06.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 212,852 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $101,243,053.80. This trade represents a 1.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 192 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were 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 directly owns 709 shares in the company, valued at $304,217.72. This trade represents a 21.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 4,505 shares of company stock worth $2,127,182. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company's stock.

Northrop Grumman Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of NOC stock traded down $5.31 on Thursday, hitting $506.99. 303,032 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 865,057. Northrop Grumman Co. has a twelve month low of $418.60 and a twelve month high of $555.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $73.39 billion, a PE ratio of 17.82, a PEG ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.20. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $480.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $491.71. 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 (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.27 by $0.12. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 26.24%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a dividend of $2.06 per share. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. Northrop Grumman's payout ratio is 29.08%.

Northrop Grumman declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock 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 reacquire up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.