Ethic Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Ethic Inc. grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 226.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,906 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 4,789 shares during the period. Ethic Inc.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $3,241,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 8,239,434 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $3,866,133,000 after buying an additional 461,307 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 28.5% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,030,644 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $952,962,000 after acquiring an additional 450,858 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 337.1% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 482,112 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $226,250,000 after purchasing an additional 371,814 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter worth approximately $171,580,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 24.7% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,733,680 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $813,599,000 after purchasing an additional 343,018 shares during the period. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 464 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.75, for a total transaction of $213,788.00. Following the transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now 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 three months, insiders sold 4,505 shares of company stock worth $2,127,632. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company set a $525.00 price target on shares of Northrop Grumman and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. StockNews.com downgraded Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $580.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $600.00 to $550.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Nine 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $545.31.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Shares of NOC opened at $482.80 on Friday. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12 month low of $418.60 and a 12 month high of $555.57. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average price of $498.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $487.13. The company has a market cap of $69.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.04, a PEG ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.15.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The aerospace company reported $6.06 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $6.33 by ($0.27). The firm had revenue of $9.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.07 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.24% and a net margin of 10.17%. On average, research analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a dividend of $2.06 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.71%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.52%.

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.