Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 6.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 18,108 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 1,114 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $8,498,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Moran Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC now owns 53,064 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $24,902,000 after purchasing an additional 3,633 shares during the last quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter worth $218,000. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 1,830 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $859,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC lifted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 59.2% during the fourth quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 3,774 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,771,000 after buying an additional 1,403 shares during the period. Finally, Personal CFO Solutions LLC grew its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 80.5% during the fourth quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 1,601 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $751,000 after buying an additional 714 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 464 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.75, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 65.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 $101,243,053.80. This represents a 1.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 4,505 shares of company stock worth $2,126,405. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of Northrop Grumman stock opened at $494.71 on Wednesday. Northrop Grumman Co. has a fifty-two week low of $418.60 and a fifty-two week high of $555.57. 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 company has a market cap of $71.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.31. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $470.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $494.83.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the aerospace company to purchase up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is presently 29.08%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on the company. StockNews.com cut Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Northrop Grumman from $545.00 to $547.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Truist Financial initiated coverage on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $544.00 price target on the stock. Argus upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $500.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $542.88.

Northrop Grumman 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.