Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Shares Bought by Carnegie Investment Counsel

Carnegie Investment Counsel raised its position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 0.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 58,748 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 248 shares during the quarter. Northrop Grumman makes up about 0.8% of Carnegie Investment Counsel’s holdings, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Carnegie Investment Counsel’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $27,570,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in NOC. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the third quarter worth $36,000. Modus Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman during the third quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the 3rd quarter valued at about $53,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

NYSE:NOC opened at $480.29 on Friday. Northrop Grumman Co. has a fifty-two week low of $418.60 and a fifty-two week high of $555.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.09. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $482.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $493.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $69.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.76, a PEG ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.35.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.07 by $0.93. The business had revenue of $10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.18 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.57% and a net margin of 5.79%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $6.18 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.93 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the aerospace company to repurchase up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

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 dividend of $2.06 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.72%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.05%.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total value of $616,067.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 537 shares in the company, valued at $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 SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,255 shares of company stock valued at $663,859. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NOC has been the topic of a number of research reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 11th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $614.00 to $643.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Citigroup upped their target price on Northrop Grumman from $521.00 to $587.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Truist Financial initiated coverage on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Tuesday. They set a “buy” rating and a $544.00 price target on the stock. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $550.94.

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.