Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. grew its stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 5.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 111,579 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,771 shares during the quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $52,363,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of NOC. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the third quarter worth $31,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Albion Financial Group UT purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman during the third quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Modus Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on NOC shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Northrop Grumman from $545.00 to $547.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Truist Financial assumed coverage on Northrop Grumman in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $544.00 price objective for the company. Susquehanna decreased their target price on Northrop Grumman from $625.00 to $557.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised Northrop Grumman from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $542.88.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 2.5 %

Shares of Northrop Grumman stock opened at $487.22 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52-week low of $418.60 and a 52-week high of $555.57. The company has a market capitalization of $70.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.19, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a 50 day moving average of $469.88 and a 200 day moving average of $495.03.

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

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.69%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.08%.

Northrop Grumman announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the aerospace company to repurchase up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In other news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 192 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $429.08, for a total transaction of $82,383.36. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 709 shares in the company, valued at approximately $304,217.72. The trade was a 21.31 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 212,852 shares in the company, valued at $101,243,053.80. This trade represents a 1.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 4,505 shares of company stock worth $2,126,405 over the last three months. 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.