Great Lakes Advisors LLC Has $20.83 Million Stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Great Lakes Advisors LLC decreased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 3.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 44,382 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 1,685 shares during the quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $20,828,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of NOC. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Albion Financial Group UT acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman during the 3rd quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Modus Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In other news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 464 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.75, for a total value 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, 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 value of $1,783,687.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 212,852 shares in the company, valued at $101,243,053.80. The trade was a 1.73 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 4,505 shares of company stock worth $2,126,405. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the company. 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 cut 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. Wolfe Research raised Northrop Grumman from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays cut 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. Finally, Argus raised Northrop Grumman to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $542.88.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of Northrop Grumman stock opened at $475.74 on Thursday. Northrop Grumman Co. has a one year low of $418.60 and a one year high of $555.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $68.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.79, a PEG ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.31. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $471.10 and a 200 day simple moving average of $494.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.91.

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

Northrop Grumman declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the aerospace company to reacquire up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.73%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.