Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. Increases Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. boosted its position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 6.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 1,406 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $660,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Townsquare Capital LLC lifted its position in Northrop Grumman by 75.6% during the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 5,390 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,847,000 after buying an additional 2,320 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,056,000. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 7.7% in the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 5,567 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,940,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. grew its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 17.5% in the third quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 44,219 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $23,340,000 after purchasing an additional 6,570 shares during the period. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors increased its position in Northrop Grumman by 0.3% during the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 19,899 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $10,508,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $558.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Truist Financial began coverage on Northrop Grumman in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $544.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $545.00 to $547.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Argus upgraded Northrop Grumman to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Susquehanna cut their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $625.00 to $557.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $545.06.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 212,852 shares in the company, valued at $101,243,053.80. This represents a 1.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 464 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.75, for a total value of $213,788.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 245 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $112,883.75. The trade was a 65.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 4,505 shares of company stock worth $2,126,405 in the last ninety days. 0.22% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of NOC stock opened at $511.86 on Monday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $478.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $492.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $74.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.06, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.31. 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 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $2.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.61%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.08%.

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

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.