Purus Wealth Management LLC Has $922,000 Stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Purus Wealth Management LLC lowered its holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 1.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,965 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 32 shares during the quarter. Purus Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $922,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 102.6% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 735,600 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $388,448,000 after purchasing an additional 372,500 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the second quarter worth $74,206,000. Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 16.0% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,087,913 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $474,276,000 after acquiring an additional 150,367 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 6.2% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,426,270 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,315,729,000 after acquiring an additional 141,816 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wedge Capital Management L L P NC acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter worth about $66,171,000. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on NOC shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Citigroup upped their price target on Northrop Grumman from $521.00 to $587.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Truist Financial initiated coverage on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $544.00 price objective for the company. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $550.94.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total value of $616,067.08. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $286,183.41. The trade was a 68.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders have sold 1,255 shares of company stock valued at $663,859 in the last three months. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

NOC opened at $482.49 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $70.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.89, a P/E/G ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.35. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $480.55 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $494.10. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1 year low of $418.60 and a 1 year high of $555.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.97.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.07 by $0.93. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.57% and a net margin of 5.79%. The firm had revenue of $10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.18 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $6.18 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a $2.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.71%. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is currently 51.05%.

Northrop Grumman declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the aerospace company to purchase up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.