Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Stock Position Lifted by Financial Counselors Inc.

Financial Counselors Inc. raised its position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 2.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 69,150 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,326 shares during the period. Financial Counselors Inc.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $32,451,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NOC. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Albion Financial Group UT acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Modus Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter worth $38,000. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NOC has been the topic of several research reports. Truist Financial initiated coverage on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $544.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $545.00 to $547.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Argus upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Susquehanna cut their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $625.00 to $557.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised shares of Northrop Grumman from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Nine investment 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $542.88.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the firm’s 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 $101,243,053.80. This trade represents a 1.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 192 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 709 shares of the company’s stock, 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. Insiders sold a total of 4,505 shares of company stock valued at $2,126,405 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of NOC stock opened at $506.88 on Wednesday. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52 week low of $418.60 and a 52 week high of $555.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.89, a PEG ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.31. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $476.25 and a 200 day moving average of $492.88. 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 (NYSE:NOC) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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, research analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is 29.08%.

Northrop Grumman declared that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the aerospace company to reacquire up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.