Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Shares Purchased by Aspen Wealth Strategies LLC

Aspen Wealth Strategies LLC boosted its position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 6.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 904 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the quarter. Aspen Wealth Strategies LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $424,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 0.4% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,140,892 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,186,681,000 after acquiring an additional 17,596 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 0.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,003,360 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,581,644,000 after acquiring an additional 18,791 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 6.2% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,426,270 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,315,729,000 after acquiring an additional 141,816 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 832,463 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $390,667,000 after acquiring an additional 23,018 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 102.6% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 735,600 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $388,448,000 after acquiring an additional 372,500 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE NOC opened at $490.88 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.01. The firm has a market cap of $71.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.32, a PEG 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 stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $472.66 and its 200-day simple moving average is $494.03.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 26.24% and a net margin of 10.17%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In related news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 192 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $429.08, for a total value of $82,383.36. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the business’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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 212,852 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $101,243,053.80. This represents a 1.73 % 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 over the last three months. 0.22% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on NOC. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Northrop Grumman from $545.00 to $547.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $625.00 to $557.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. StockNews.com cut Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Truist Financial started coverage on Northrop Grumman in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $544.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $558.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $542.88.

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.