Napatree Capital LLC Acquires New Holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Napatree Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 1,008 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $473,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. raised its position in Northrop Grumman by 19.9% in the fourth quarter. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. now owns 16,660 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $7,818,000 after acquiring an additional 2,770 shares in the last quarter. Trinity Street Asset Management LLP lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Trinity Street Asset Management LLP now owns 48,367 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $22,698,000 after acquiring an additional 1,786 shares in the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $604,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 212,514 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $112,222,000 after purchasing an additional 5,334 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI raised its stake 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 purchasing an additional 15,000 shares during the period. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $475.65, for a total transaction of $1,783,687.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 212,852 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $101,243,053.80. The trade was a 1.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 192 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $429.08, for a total transaction of $82,383.36. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 709 shares in the company, valued at $304,217.72. This represents a 21.31 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 4,505 shares of company stock valued at $2,126,405. 0.22% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 0.6 %

NYSE:NOC opened at $492.25 on Friday. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12 month low of $418.60 and a 12 month high of $555.57. The firm has a market cap of $71.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.37, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The company’s 50 day moving average is $475.18 and its 200-day moving average is $493.32.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 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%. Equities analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the aerospace company to reacquire up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a dividend of $2.06 per share. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.08%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NOC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Argus raised shares of Northrop Grumman to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $500.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. UBS Group cut their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $558.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup boosted their target price on Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Truist Financial started coverage on Northrop Grumman in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $544.00 price target for the company. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $542.88.

Northrop Grumman 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.