Rakuten Securities Inc. Grows Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 291.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 94 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Rakuten Securities Inc.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $44,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 8.8% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,810 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $850,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 702 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $329,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 37.2% in the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 81,642 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $38,314,000 after acquiring an additional 22,121 shares during the period. Moors & Cabot Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 6,090 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,858,000 after acquiring an additional 343 shares during the period. Finally, Founders Financial Alliance LLC boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 18.6% in the fourth quarter. Founders Financial Alliance LLC now owns 840 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $394,000 after acquiring an additional 132 shares during the period. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com lowered Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Northrop Grumman from $545.00 to $547.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Susquehanna dropped their price target on Northrop Grumman from $625.00 to $557.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. UBS Group dropped their price target on Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $558.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Argus raised Northrop Grumman to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Nine investment 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $542.88.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In other news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 464 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.75, for a total value of $213,788.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 245 shares in the company, valued at approximately $112,883.75. This represents a 65.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.65, for a total value of $1,783,687.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 212,852 shares in the company, valued at approximately $101,243,053.80. The trade was a 1.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 4,505 shares of company stock worth $2,126,405. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

NYSE:NOC opened at $475.74 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $68.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.79, a PEG ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.31. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1 year low of $418.60 and a 1 year high of $555.57. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $471.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $494.70. 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 (NYSE:NOC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.27 by $0.12. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.24% and a net margin of 10.17%. Equities analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a $2.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.73%. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is 29.08%.

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

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.