Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Shares Bought by LPL Financial LLC

LPL Financial LLC grew its stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 7.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 261,837 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 18,854 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $122,877,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the third quarter valued at $31,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. Albion Financial Group UT acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Modus Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In other news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 212,852 shares in the company, valued at approximately $101,243,053.80. This trade represents a 1.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 464 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.75, for a total value of $213,788.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 245 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $112,883.75. The trade was a 65.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 4,505 shares of company stock valued at $2,126,405. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Shares of NOC opened at $495.25 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $475.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $492.94. The stock has a market cap of $71.69 billion, a PE ratio of 17.48, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.31. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1-year low of $418.60 and a 1-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 announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 earnings per share (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%. As a group, analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman announced that its Board of Directors has authorized 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 reacquire up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid 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 yield of 1.66%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.08%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on NOC shares. UBS Group reduced their target price on Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $558.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Argus raised shares of Northrop Grumman to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Truist Financial began coverage on Northrop Grumman in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $544.00 target price for the company. Nine 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $542.88.

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.