Globeflex Capital L P Invests $8.31 Million in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Globeflex Capital L P acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 17,700 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,306,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in NOC. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the third quarter worth $234,000. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 6.5% during the third quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,937 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,023,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the period. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc lifted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 4.1% during the third quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 2,585 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,365,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the period. Plato Investment Management Ltd lifted its position in Northrop Grumman by 24.3% during the third quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 848 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $447,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the period. Finally, Zions Bancorporation N.A. lifted its position in Northrop Grumman by 13.9% during the third quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 836 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $441,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the period. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Northrop Grumman Stock Down 0.9 %

NOC stock opened at $486.10 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.15, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.31. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $471.93 and a 200-day simple moving average of $494.49. 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.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.27 by $0.12. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 26.24%. Equities analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $2.06 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.70%. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is presently 29.08%.

Northrop Grumman declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the aerospace company to purchase up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NOC has been the subject of a number of research reports. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. 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 target price for the company. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Nine equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $542.88.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, 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 transaction of $1,783,687.50. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 464 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.75, for a total transaction of $213,788.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 245 shares in the company, valued at $112,883.75. The trade was a 65.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 4,505 shares of company stock worth $2,126,405. 0.22% of the stock is owned by 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.