Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Holdings Lifted by Prudential Financial Inc.

Prudential Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 225.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 327,998 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 227,314 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $153,926,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,677,781 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $5,949,556,000 after purchasing an additional 56,807 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,140,892 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,186,681,000 after acquiring an additional 17,596 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Northrop Grumman by 0.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,003,360 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,581,644,000 after acquiring an additional 18,791 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,426,270 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,315,729,000 after purchasing an additional 141,816 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 832,463 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $390,667,000 after purchasing an additional 23,018 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE NOC opened at $492.25 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $71.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.37, a PEG ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.31. 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 firm’s fifty day moving average is $475.18 and its 200 day moving average is $493.11. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52 week low of $418.60 and a 52 week high of $555.57.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 earnings per share 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%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is 29.08%.

Northrop Grumman announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on NOC. Citigroup increased their target price on Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Argus raised shares of Northrop Grumman to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Northrop Grumman from $545.00 to $547.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $558.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $542.88.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In other news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of Northrop Grumman 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 212,852 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $101,243,053.80. The trade was a 1.73 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 464 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 245 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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. Insiders have sold a total of 4,505 shares of company stock worth $2,126,405 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

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.