Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Shares Bought by Aptus Capital Advisors LLC

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 32.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,562 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 625 shares during the quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $1,202,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 3.1% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 166,434 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $87,889,000 after purchasing an additional 4,969 shares in the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC increased its position in Northrop Grumman by 89.3% during the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 1,257 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $590,000 after buying an additional 593 shares during the period. Fortem Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $237,000. Diversified Trust Co boosted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 143.2% in the fourth quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 4,902 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,300,000 after acquiring an additional 2,886 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter worth approximately $622,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Northrop Grumman news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 212,852 shares in the company, valued at approximately $101,243,053.80. This represents a 1.73 % decrease in their position. The sale 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 the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $429.08, for a total value of $82,383.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 709 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $304,217.72. This trade represents a 21.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 4,505 shares of company stock worth $2,127,632 over the last 90 days. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Argus raised shares of Northrop Grumman to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Susquehanna lowered their price target on Northrop Grumman from $557.00 to $540.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wolfe Research raised Northrop Grumman from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Truist Financial lowered their target price on Northrop Grumman from $600.00 to $550.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Nine 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $545.31.

Northrop Grumman Stock Down 1.0 %

NOC stock opened at $488.62 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $496.99 and its 200 day moving average price is $487.91. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52 week low of $418.60 and a 52 week high of $555.57. The company has a market cap of $70.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.24, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.15.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The aerospace company reported $6.06 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $6.33 by ($0.27). Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.24% and a net margin of 10.17%. The firm had revenue of $9.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.07 billion. On average, research analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 yield of 1.69%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.52%.

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.