Rakuten Investment Management Inc. Purchases Shares of 3,696 Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC

Rakuten Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 3,696 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,252,000.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NOC. Coign Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in Northrop Grumman by 1.3% in the second quarter. Coign Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,294 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $647,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares during the period. Howard Financial Services LTD. increased its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. now owns 1,127 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $687,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. West Wealth Group LLC raised its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. West Wealth Group LLC now owns 412 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $251,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the period. King Luther Capital Management Corp raised its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 1,243 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $621,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the period. Finally, Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA lifted its position in Northrop Grumman by 6.9% during the third quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA now owns 278 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $169,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $600.00, for a total transaction of $4,200,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 194,602 shares in the company, valued at $116,761,200. This trade represents a 3.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Mark A. Welsh III sold 97 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $564.08, for a total value of $54,715.76. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 4,281 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,414,826.48. The trade was a 2.22% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 10,097 shares of company stock valued at $6,099,716. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on NOC shares. Susquehanna restated a “positive” rating and issued a $752.00 price target on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $575.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $727.00 price target on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Monday, January 12th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Wednesday, December 24th. Finally, BTIG Research lifted their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $630.00 to $680.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $656.82.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of NOC opened at $672.67 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $96.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.44 and a beta of 0.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.98. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 1 year low of $426.24 and a 1 year high of $677.30. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $587.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $582.49.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 21st. The aerospace company reported $7.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.43 by $1.24. The firm had revenue of $10.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.68 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 9.82% and a return on equity of 25.49%. Northrop Grumman’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $7.00 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 1st were issued a dividend of $2.31 per share. This represents a $9.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 1st. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is 33.24%.

Northrop Grumman Profile

Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) is a leading U.S.-based aerospace and defense company that designs, builds and sustains advanced systems, products and technologies for government and commercial customers. Formed through the combination of Northrop and Grumman businesses in the 1990s, the company’s portfolio spans manned and unmanned aircraft, space systems, missile defense, radar and sensor systems, and integrated command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (C4ISR) solutions.

The company’s work includes airframe and platform manufacturing, space hardware and satellite systems, advanced mission systems and cybersecurity services, as well as logistics, sustainment and modernization programs.