FORA Capital LLC Purchases Shares of 2,365 Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

FORA Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 2,365 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,110,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in NOC. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. lifted 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 purchasing an additional 2,770 shares during the period. Trinity Street Asset Management LLP raised its stake in Northrop Grumman by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Trinity Street Asset Management LLP now owns 48,367 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $22,698,000 after buying an additional 1,786 shares during the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group boosted 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 valued at $4,132,000 after acquiring an additional 1,008 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,025,263 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,417,850,000 after acquiring an additional 21,903 shares during the period. Finally, RFG Bristol Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter worth about $284,000. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

NOC opened at $482.80 on Friday. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1 year low of $418.60 and a 1 year high of $555.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The company has a market capitalization of $69.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.04, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.15. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $498.08 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $487.33.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The aerospace company reported $6.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $6.33 by ($0.27). The firm 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, analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.71%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.52%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Northrop Grumman news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 212,852 shares in the company, valued at $101,243,053.80. The trade was a 1.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 464 shares of the firm’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 sale, the vice president now owns 245 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $112,883.75. The trade was a 65.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 4,505 shares of company stock valued at $2,127,632. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on NOC shares. Susquehanna cut their target price on Northrop Grumman from $557.00 to $540.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. UBS Group cut their price target on Northrop Grumman from $583.00 to $571.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $600.00 to $550.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company set a $525.00 price target on shares of Northrop Grumman and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $424.00 to $521.00 in a report on Friday, April 11th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $545.31.

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.