Townsquare Capital LLC Grows Stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Townsquare Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 2.6% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 5,530 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $2,595,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NOC. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Albion Financial Group UT acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Modus Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 291.7% in the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 94 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on NOC shares. Wolfe Research raised Northrop Grumman from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $558.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $500.00 to $575.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Argus raised shares of Northrop Grumman to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Truist Financial initiated coverage on Northrop Grumman in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $544.00 price objective on the stock. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $543.65.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 464 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.75, for a total transaction of $213,788.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 245 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $112,883.75. The trade was a 65.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $101,243,053.80. This trade represents a 1.73 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 4,505 shares of company stock worth $2,127,182 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:NOC opened at $529.43 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $484.39 and its 200 day simple moving average is $491.76. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1 year low of $418.60 and a 1 year high of $555.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The company has a market capitalization of $76.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.68, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.20.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. 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.