Raymond James Financial Inc. Takes Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 365,615 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $171,580,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in NOC. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Albion Financial Group UT purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Modus Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. 83.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 464 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at $112,883.75. This represents a 65.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.65, for a total transaction 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 sold a total of 4,505 shares of company stock worth $2,126,405 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NOC has been the subject of a number of research reports. 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. 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 objective for the company. StockNews.com cut shares of Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $545.00 to $547.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $542.88.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 2.5 %

NYSE NOC opened at $487.22 on Friday. 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 firm’s fifty day moving average price is $469.88 and its 200 day moving average price is $495.20. The company has a market capitalization of $70.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.31. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12 month low of $418.60 and a 12 month high of $555.57.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.27 by $0.12. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 26.24%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman announced that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the aerospace company to buy up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a dividend of $2.06 per share. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.69%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.08%.

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.