Wellington Management Group LLP Purchases 23,808 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 4,164,700 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 23,808 shares during the quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP owned 2.88% of Northrop Grumman worth $1,954,452,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. grew its position 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 valued at $7,818,000 after acquiring an additional 2,770 shares during the last quarter. Trinity Street Asset Management LLP grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 1,786 shares during the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter worth about $604,000. Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI lifted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 1,316.9% during the 4th quarter. Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI now owns 16,139 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $7,574,000 after buying an additional 15,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 74.4% during the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 156,149 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $73,279,000 after buying an additional 66,638 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NOC has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $545.00 to $547.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. StockNews.com lowered Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup increased their price target on Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $500.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $545.06.

Northrop Grumman Stock Down 0.4 %

Northrop Grumman stock opened at $511.86 on Monday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $478.20 and a 200-day moving average price of $492.68. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1-year low of $418.60 and a 1-year high of $555.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $74.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.06, a PEG ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.31. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.27 by $0.12. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.24% and a net margin of 10.17%. Equities research analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $2.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.61%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.08%.

Northrop Grumman announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the aerospace company to purchase up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In related news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 212,852 shares in the company, valued at $101,243,053.80. This trade represents a 1.73 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 192 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $429.08, for a total value of $82,383.36. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 709 shares in the company, valued at approximately $304,217.72. The trade was a 21.31 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 4,505 shares of company stock worth $2,126,405. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Company 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.