RiverFront Investment Group LLC Buys New Shares in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

RiverFront Investment Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 437 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $205,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NOC. Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 102.6% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 735,600 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $388,448,000 after purchasing an additional 372,500 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter valued at $171,580,000. Prudential Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 225.8% in the 4th quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 327,998 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $153,926,000 after buying an additional 227,314 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter worth about $94,370,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake 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 period. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on NOC shares. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com downgraded Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Susquehanna lowered their price target on Northrop Grumman from $625.00 to $557.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Argus upgraded Northrop Grumman to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $500.00 to $575.00 in a research note on Thursday. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $545.06.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 212,852 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $101,243,053.80. This represents a 1.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 464 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.75, for a total value of $213,788.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 245 shares in the company, valued at approximately $112,883.75. This trade represents a 65.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 4,505 shares of company stock worth $2,126,405 over the last ninety days. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Northrop Grumman Trading Down 0.4 %

NYSE NOC opened at $511.86 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12 month low of $418.60 and a 12 month high of $555.57. The company has a market capitalization of $74.09 billion, a PE ratio of 18.06, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.31. The stock 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. Research analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 EPS for the current 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 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 yield of 1.61%. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is 29.08%.

Northrop Grumman declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to buyback $3.00 billion in 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 generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.