Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Shares Purchased by Pacer Advisors Inc.

Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 43.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,727 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 4,477 shares during the quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $6,911,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of NOC. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,669 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,722,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Narwhal Capital Management raised its stake in Northrop Grumman by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Narwhal Capital Management now owns 18,937 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $8,887,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Asio Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Asio Capital LLC now owns 6,228 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,923,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Grimes & Company Inc. boosted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 68.8% during the 4th quarter. Grimes & Company Inc. now owns 932 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $437,000 after purchasing an additional 380 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC now owns 978 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $459,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on NOC shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Northrop Grumman from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $595.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $614.00 to $643.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Truist Financial initiated coverage on Northrop Grumman in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $544.00 target price for the company. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $550.94.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total value of $616,067.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $286,183.41. The trade was a 68.28 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders sold a total of 1,255 shares of company stock worth $663,859 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of NOC stock opened at $481.56 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.09. The firm has a market cap of $70.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.84, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.35. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $478.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $497.74. Northrop Grumman Co. has a one year low of $418.60 and a one year high of $555.57.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a dividend of $2.06 per share. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.71%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.05%.

Northrop Grumman announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the aerospace company to purchase 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 shares are 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.