Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Shares Bought by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 4.3% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 233,882 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,558 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $109,758,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of NOC. Sapient Capital LLC grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Sapient Capital LLC now owns 2,049 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $962,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG increased its position in Northrop Grumman by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 1,006 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $472,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. raised its stake in Northrop Grumman by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 900 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $422,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Northrop Grumman by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 1,987 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $933,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the period. Finally, Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC now owns 432 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $203,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Northrop Grumman Trading Down 5.6 %

Shares of NOC stock opened at $486.23 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $70.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.16, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. Northrop Grumman Co. has a fifty-two week low of $418.60 and a fifty-two week high of $555.57. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $479.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $492.44.

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, 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%. On average, analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the aerospace company to reacquire up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a dividend of $2.06 per share. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.69%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is 29.08%.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The shares were 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 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 464 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.75, for a total transaction of $213,788.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 245 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $112,883.75. This represents a 65.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 4,505 shares of company stock valued at $2,126,405 over the last three months. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Truist Financial began coverage on Northrop Grumman in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $544.00 price target for the company. Susquehanna reduced their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $625.00 to $557.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $500.00 to $575.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Argus upgraded Northrop Grumman to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Eight equities research 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $545.06.

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.