Prudential PLC Has $5.05 Million Stock Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Prudential PLC raised its holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 15.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 10,755 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,459 shares during the quarter. Prudential PLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $5,047,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Albion Financial Group UT acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Modus Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter worth $42,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 291.7% in the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 94 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Down 5.6 %

Shares of Northrop Grumman stock opened at $486.23 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $70.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.16, a PEG ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.31. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $479.27 and its 200 day moving average is $492.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.91. Northrop Grumman Co. has a one year low of $418.60 and a one year high of $555.57.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.27 by $0.12. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 26.24%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 EPS for the current year.

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

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a dividend of $2.06 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.69%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.08%.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In related news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 464 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.75, for a total transaction of $213,788.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 245 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $112,883.75. This represents a 65.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $475.65, for a total value of $1,783,687.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 212,852 shares of the company’s stock, 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. Insiders have sold 4,505 shares of company stock valued at $2,126,405 in the last 90 days. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on NOC shares. Truist Financial initiated coverage on Northrop Grumman in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $544.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup upped their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $500.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Susquehanna decreased their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $625.00 to $557.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $500.00 to $575.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $545.06.

About Northrop Grumman

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.