Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Stock Holdings Lifted by Jefferies Financial Group Inc.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 129.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 29,042 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 16,369 shares during the quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $13,629,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

NYSE NOC opened at $482.80 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1 year low of $418.60 and a 1 year high of $555.57. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $498.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $487.13. The company has a market cap of $69.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.04, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.15.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $9.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.07 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.24% and a net margin of 10.17%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a $2.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.71%. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is 32.52%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on NOC shares. UBS Group dropped their price target on Northrop Grumman from $583.00 to $571.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research 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 on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Argus upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Susquehanna cut their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $557.00 to $540.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $525.00 target price on Northrop Grumman and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Nine research 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $545.31.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In other news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the company’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 owns 212,852 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $101,243,053.80. This represents a 1.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 192 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $429.08, for a total value of $82,383.36. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 709 shares in the company, 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 in the last ninety days. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.