Guggenheim Capital LLC Has $9.46 Million Holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Guggenheim Capital LLC raised its position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 107.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 20,150 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,452 shares during the period. Guggenheim Capital LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $9,456,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter valued at about $171,580,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its position 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 worth $813,599,000 after purchasing an additional 343,018 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 225.8% in the 4th quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 327,998 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $153,926,000 after purchasing an additional 227,314 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter valued at $94,370,000. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its stake in Northrop Grumman by 21.5% during the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 967,335 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $453,961,000 after purchasing an additional 170,976 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

NOC stock opened at $538.36 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $485.78 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $492.08. The stock has a market cap of $77.60 billion, a PE ratio of 19.00, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.20. Northrop Grumman Co. has a one year low of $418.60 and a one year 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.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.53%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is presently 29.08%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on NOC. Argus raised shares of Northrop Grumman to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $500.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com lowered Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $545.00 to $547.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $545.59.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 212,852 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $101,243,053.80. The trade was a 1.73 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 709 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $304,217.72. The trade was a 21.31 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 4,505 shares of company stock worth $2,127,182 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

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.