GWN Securities Inc. Makes New $494,000 Investment in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

GWN Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund purchased 997 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $494,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. increased its position in Northrop Grumman by 0.9% in the third quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 2,288 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,208,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC increased its position in Northrop Grumman by 0.3% in the third quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 8,320 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $4,394,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Sapient Capital LLC increased its position in Northrop Grumman by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Sapient Capital LLC now owns 2,049 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $962,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG increased its position in Northrop Grumman by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 1,006 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $472,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mather Group LLC. increased its position in Northrop Grumman by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 900 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $422,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

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 that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $101,243,053.80. The trade was a 1.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 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. Insiders have sold 4,505 shares of company stock valued at $2,126,405 over the last ninety days. 0.22% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NOC has been the subject of several recent research reports. UBS Group reduced their price target on Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $558.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Wolfe Research upgraded Northrop Grumman from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Truist Financial initiated coverage on Northrop Grumman in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $544.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com cut Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $542.88.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

NYSE:NOC opened at $486.10 on Monday. 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’s 50-day simple moving average is $471.93 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $494.23. The stock has a market cap of $70.37 billion, a PE ratio of 17.15, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.31. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52 week low of $418.60 and a 52 week high of $555.57.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its 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 return on equity of 26.24% and a net margin of 10.17%. As a group, analysts forecast 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a dividend of $2.06 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.70%. Northrop Grumman’s 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.