Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Shares Purchased by UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC

by · The Cerbat Gem

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC – Free Report) by 14.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 652,672 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 80,221 shares during the quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC owned approximately 0.45% of Northrop Grumman worth $306,292,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. boosted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 19.9% in the 4th quarter. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. now owns 16,660 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $7,818,000 after buying an additional 2,770 shares in the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group raised its position in Northrop Grumman by 12.8% during the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 8,857 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $4,132,000 after acquiring an additional 1,008 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,025,263 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,417,850,000 after purchasing an additional 21,903 shares in the last quarter. RFG Bristol Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $284,000. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 74.4% in the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 156,149 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $73,279,000 after purchasing an additional 66,638 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In other news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 464 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.75, for a total value of $213,788.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 245 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $112,883.75. This represents a 65.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the firm’s 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 approximately $101,243,053.80. This represents a 1.73% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 4,313 shares of company stock valued at $2,045,249. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on NOC shares. Wolfe Research upgraded Northrop Grumman from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com downgraded Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Argus upgraded Northrop Grumman to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Northrop Grumman from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $424.00 to $521.00 in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $545.31.

View Our Latest Stock Analysis on NOC

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

NOC opened at $473.84 on Thursday. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1 year low of $418.60 and a 1 year high of $555.57. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $495.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $485.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $68.20 billion, a PE ratio of 16.72, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.01.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The aerospace company reported $6.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.33 by ($0.27). The company had revenue of $9.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.07 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.24% and a net margin of 10.17%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd will be issued a $2.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $9.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.95%. This is a boost from Northrop Grumman’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.06. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.52%.

About Northrop Grumman

(Free Report)

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.

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