Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. Buys 33 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 0.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,375 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $2,522,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NOC. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.4% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,140,892 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,186,681,000 after buying an additional 17,596 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.6% during 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 buying an additional 18,791 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 6.2% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,426,270 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,315,729,000 after buying an additional 141,816 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 832,463 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $390,667,000 after buying an additional 23,018 shares during the period. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 102.6% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 735,600 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $388,448,000 after buying an additional 372,500 shares during the period. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In related news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 212,852 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $101,243,053.80. This represents a 1.73 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 192 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $429.08, for a total value of $82,383.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 709 shares in the company, valued at approximately $304,217.72. The trade was 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 have sold 4,505 shares of company stock valued at $2,126,405. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of NOC stock opened at $475.13 on Friday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $469.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $495.32. The company has a market cap of $68.78 billion, a PE ratio of 16.77, a PEG ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12-month low of $418.60 and a 12-month high of $555.57.

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

Northrop Grumman announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the aerospace company to repurchase up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a dividend of $2.06 per share. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is presently 29.08%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on NOC. StockNews.com lowered Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Truist Financial initiated coverage on Northrop Grumman in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $544.00 price target for the company. Wolfe Research upgraded Northrop Grumman from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group lowered their price target on Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $558.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $542.75.

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.