Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Shares Acquired by Wealth Quarterback LLC

Wealth Quarterback LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 3.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,518 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the period. Wealth Quarterback LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $1,182,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NOC. Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 102.6% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 735,600 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $388,448,000 after buying an additional 372,500 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,426,270 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,315,729,000 after buying an additional 141,816 shares in the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $66,171,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $622,000. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI grew its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 154.7% during the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 157,601 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $83,224,000 after acquiring an additional 95,724 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Shares of NOC stock opened at $438.70 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $63.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.48, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.35. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $474.95 and a two-hundred day moving average of $499.39. 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 Co. has a 1-year low of $418.60 and a 1-year high of $555.57.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced 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%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 27.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the aerospace company to repurchase up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.88%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.08%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $595.00 to $574.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Northrop Grumman from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group cut their price target on Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $558.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Truist Financial began coverage on Northrop Grumman in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $544.00 price target for the company. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $544.56.

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.