Financial Counselors Inc. Has $32.45 Million Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Financial Counselors Inc. grew its holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 2.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 69,150 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,326 shares during the quarter. Financial Counselors Inc.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $32,451,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of NOC. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the third quarter valued at $31,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Albion Financial Group UT bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Modus Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In other news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 212,852 shares in the company, valued at approximately $101,243,053.80. This trade represents a 1.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 192 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $429.08, for a total value of $82,383.36. Following the sale, 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. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 4,505 shares of company stock worth $2,126,405. 0.22% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on NOC. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $558.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com downgraded Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Truist Financial initiated 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $545.00 to $547.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $542.88.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 2.4 %

NYSE NOC opened at $506.88 on Wednesday. Northrop Grumman Co. has a one year low of $418.60 and a one year high of $555.57. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $476.25 and a 200-day simple moving average of $492.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.01. The firm has a market cap of $73.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.89, a PEG ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.31.

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

Northrop Grumman declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the aerospace company to repurchase up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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 issued a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.