7,183 Shares in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Purchased by Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC

Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund purchased 7,183 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,371,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NOC. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,677,781 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $5,949,556,000 after acquiring an additional 56,807 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,164,700 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,954,452,000 after purchasing an additional 23,808 shares in the last quarter. 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 worth $1,417,850,000 after purchasing an additional 21,903 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,533,378 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,188,889,000 after buying an additional 107,108 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 21.5% in the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 967,335 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $453,961,000 after buying an additional 170,976 shares during the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Northrop Grumman news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 212,852 shares in the company, valued at approximately $101,243,053.80. This represents a 1.73 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 192 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 709 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 three months, insiders have sold 4,472 shares of company stock worth $2,111,332. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Trading Down 0.8 %

NOC opened at $481.65 on Tuesday. 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 $69.72 billion, a PE ratio of 17.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.01. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $478.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $491.95.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 earnings per share 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%. 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 stock buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the aerospace company to buy up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $2.06 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.71%. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is 29.08%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on NOC. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Susquehanna dropped their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $625.00 to $557.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Northrop Grumman from $545.00 to $547.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Argus raised Northrop Grumman to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded Northrop Grumman from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $545.06.

About Northrop Grumman

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.