Mizuho Securities USA LLC Buys 4,066 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 45.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 12,980 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,066 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $6,091,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional 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 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,140,892 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,186,681,000 after acquiring an additional 17,596 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 18,791 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew 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 worth $1,315,729,000 after buying an additional 141,816 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 832,463 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $390,667,000 after buying an additional 23,018 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 102.6% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on NOC shares. Truist Financial started coverage on Northrop Grumman in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $544.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com lowered Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $558.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Susquehanna reduced their target price on shares of 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 upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a 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 given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $542.88.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 192 shares of the company’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 transaction, the vice president now owns 709 shares in the company, valued at approximately $304,217.72. This represents a 21.31 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $101,243,053.80. This represents a 1.73 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 4,505 shares of company stock valued at $2,126,405 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 0.6 %

NOC opened at $492.25 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $71.26 billion, a P/E 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. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52 week low of $418.60 and a 52 week high of $555.57. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $475.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $493.32.

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 return on equity of 26.24% and a net margin of 10.17%. Analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

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

Northrop Grumman announced that its board has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the aerospace company to buy up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is 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.