Apella Capital LLC Grows Stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Apella Capital LLC increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 128.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,112 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 626 shares during the quarter. Apella Capital LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $522,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 102.6% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 735,600 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $388,448,000 after acquiring an additional 372,500 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the second quarter valued at about $74,206,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 113.6% in the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 296,844 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $129,409,000 after purchasing an additional 157,854 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 16.0% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,087,913 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $474,276,000 after buying an additional 150,367 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 6.2% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,426,270 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,315,729,000 after buying an additional 141,816 shares during the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

NOC stock opened at $472.19 on Thursday. Northrop Grumman Co. has a twelve month low of $418.60 and a twelve month high of $555.57. The firm has a market cap of $68.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.26, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.35. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $483.30 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $493.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted 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 company had revenue of $10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.18 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.79% and a return on equity of 26.57%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $6.18 EPS. Analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.93 earnings per share 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 repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the aerospace company to repurchase up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a $2.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.75%. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is 51.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total transaction of $616,067.08. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $286,183.41. The trade was a 68.28 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 1,255 shares of company stock valued at $663,859 over the last quarter. 0.22% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NOC has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised Northrop Grumman from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $595.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $500.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $521.00 to $587.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 11th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.