Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Stock Position Lifted by Venturi Wealth Management LLC

Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 41.2% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 476 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 139 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $223,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NOC. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 1.4% in the third quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,478 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $780,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. PBMares Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 0.5% in the third quarter. PBMares Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,421 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,335,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 0.9% in the third quarter. Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 2,262 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,194,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 0.9% in the third quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 2,288 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,208,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 1.1% in the third quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 1,937 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,023,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on NOC. Susquehanna decreased their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $625.00 to $557.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. StockNews.com cut shares of Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of 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, Truist Financial assumed coverage on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $544.00 price objective for the company. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $544.56.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

NYSE:NOC opened at $448.59 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $64.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.83, a PEG ratio of 3.69 and a beta of 0.35. Northrop Grumman Co. has a one year low of $418.60 and a one year high of $555.57. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $471.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $497.45. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.27 by $0.12. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 26.24%. Analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the aerospace company to reacquire up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally 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 will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.84%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is 29.08%.

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.