Russell Investments Group Ltd. Buys 17,393 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 10.7% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 179,205 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 17,393 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $83,890,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. London Co. of Virginia bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the third quarter worth about $165,786,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 74.7% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,174,556 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $517,028,000 after purchasing an additional 502,060 shares during the period. Raymond James Trust N.A. increased its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 19.7% in the fourth quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 16,515 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $7,731,000 after purchasing an additional 2,723 shares during the period. Phraction Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the third quarter worth about $677,000. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 2,801.7% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 330,499 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $154,720,000 after purchasing an additional 319,109 shares during the period. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Alembic Global Advisors upgraded Northrop Grumman from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $532.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Susquehanna lifted their target price on Northrop Grumman from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Northrop Grumman from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday. StockNews.com raised Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Northrop Grumman from $475.00 to $505.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $503.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 711 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $453.22, for a total value of $322,239.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $917,317.28. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 711 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $453.22, for a total transaction of $322,239.42. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 2,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $917,317.28. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 955 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.37, for a total transaction of $430,103.35. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,137 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,863,180.69. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 3,149 shares of company stock worth $1,421,147 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

NYSE NOC traded down $7.61 during trading on Friday, reaching $480.45. 1,371,947 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,120,454. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.13. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $462.59 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $465.77. The company has a market cap of $71.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.35. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1-year low of $414.56 and a 1-year high of $496.89.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.32 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.83 by $0.49. The business had revenue of $10.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.77 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 24.09% and a net margin of 5.38%. Northrop Grumman’s revenue was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $5.50 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 24.7 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 26th were given a $1.87 dividend. This represents a $7.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 23rd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.31%.

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.