Alpine Woods Capital Investors LLC Purchases 753 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Alpine Woods Capital Investors LLC increased its stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 12.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,786 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 753 shares during the quarter. Alpine Woods Capital Investors LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $3,185,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Albion Financial Group UT bought a new position in Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter worth $33,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Modus Advisors LLC bought a new position in Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter worth $38,000. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 192 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $429.08, for a total value of $82,383.36. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 709 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $304,217.72. This trade represents a 21.31 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 4,505 shares of company stock worth $2,126,405. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Wolfe Research raised Northrop Grumman from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Argus raised Northrop Grumman to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Truist Financial initiated coverage on Northrop Grumman in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $544.00 price target on the stock. Susquehanna decreased their price target 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, UBS Group decreased their price target on Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $558.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $542.88.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 3.4 %

Shares of Northrop Grumman stock opened at $491.20 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $71.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.33, a PEG ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.31. Northrop Grumman Co. has a twelve month low of $418.60 and a twelve month high of $555.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $471.57 and a 200-day moving average price of $494.67.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 EPS 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 fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback 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 usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a $2.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.68%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.08%.

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.