Invesco Ltd. Boosts Stock Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 24.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,733,680 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 343,018 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. owned about 1.20% of Northrop Grumman worth $813,599,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. raised its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 19.9% during the 4th quarter. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. now owns 16,660 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $7,818,000 after acquiring an additional 2,770 shares in the last quarter. Trinity Street Asset Management LLP increased its stake in Northrop Grumman by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Trinity Street Asset Management LLP now owns 48,367 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $22,698,000 after purchasing an additional 1,786 shares during the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the third quarter worth approximately $604,000. RFG Bristol Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter worth approximately $284,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,025,263 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,417,850,000 after buying an additional 21,903 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 directly owns 212,852 shares in the company, valued at approximately $101,243,053.80. The trade was a 1.73 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 464 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 245 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $112,883.75. This represents a 65.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 4,472 shares of company stock valued at $2,111,332 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $558.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Northrop Grumman from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $500.00 to $575.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Argus raised Northrop Grumman to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Truist Financial assumed coverage on Northrop Grumman in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $544.00 price objective for the company. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $545.06.

Northrop Grumman Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of Northrop Grumman stock opened at $481.65 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $69.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.00, a PEG ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.20. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $478.84 and a two-hundred day moving average of $491.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.01. Northrop Grumman Co. has a one year low of $418.60 and a one year high of $555.57.

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

Northrop Grumman announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the aerospace company to buy up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a $2.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.71%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.08%.

Northrop Grumman 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.