Farther Finance Advisors LLC Acquires 147 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 8.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,810 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 147 shares during the quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $850,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. grew its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 2,288 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,208,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC grew its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 8,320 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $4,394,000 after buying an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Sapient Capital LLC grew its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Sapient Capital LLC now owns 2,049 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $962,000 after buying an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG grew its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 1,006 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $472,000 after buying an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mather Group LLC. grew its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 900 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $422,000 after buying an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In other news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 212,852 shares in the company, valued at $101,243,053.80. This trade 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 through the SEC website. Also, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 192 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 4,505 shares of company stock worth $2,126,405. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Northrop Grumman stock opened at $486.10 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. The company has a market capitalization 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 12 month low of $418.60 and a 12 month high of $555.57. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $471.93 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $494.49.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. Analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the aerospace company to purchase up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a $2.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.70%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.08%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on NOC shares. Citigroup upped their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. StockNews.com lowered Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Truist Financial assumed coverage on Northrop Grumman in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $544.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group reduced their target price on Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $558.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $500.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $542.88.

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.