RiverFront Investment Group LLC Makes New $205,000 Investment in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

RiverFront Investment Group LLC acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund acquired 437 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $205,000.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in NOC. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. Albion Financial Group UT acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Modus Advisors LLC bought a new position in Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter worth approximately $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Down 0.4 %

NOC stock opened at $511.86 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $74.09 billion, a PE ratio of 18.06, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 52 week low of $418.60 and a 52 week high of $555.57. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $478.20 and a 200 day simple moving average of $492.84.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.08%.

Northrop Grumman declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the aerospace company to reacquire up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NOC has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $545.00 to $547.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Argus raised shares of Northrop Grumman to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $500.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Truist Financial initiated coverage on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $544.00 target price for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $500.00 to $575.00 in a report on Thursday. Eight 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $545.06.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Northrop Grumman news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $475.65, for a total transaction of $1,783,687.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 212,852 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $101,243,053.80. The trade was a 1.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 192 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $429.08, for a total transaction 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders 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 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.