Rhumbline Advisers Lowers Stock Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Rhumbline Advisers cut its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 1.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 247,656 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 2,486 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers’ holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $116,222,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Creative Planning grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 7.6% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 42,571 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $22,481,000 after buying an additional 3,017 shares during the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 8.5% in the 3rd quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 8,220 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $4,341,000 after buying an additional 647 shares during the last quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 51.4% in the 3rd quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC now owns 742 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $392,000 after buying an additional 252 shares during the last quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 1,095 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $578,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 16,602 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $8,767,000 after buying an additional 803 shares during the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NOC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $500.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Truist Financial started coverage on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $544.00 target price on the stock. Finally, UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $558.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $544.56.

Northrop Grumman Trading Down 3.6 %

NYSE:NOC opened at $438.70 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $474.95 and a 200-day simple moving average of $499.19. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52-week low of $418.60 and a 52-week high of $555.57. The company has a market capitalization of $63.51 billion, a PE ratio of 15.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.27 by $0.12. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 26.24%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 27.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the aerospace company to buy up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is 29.08%.

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.