Pflug Koory LLC Grows Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Pflug Koory LLC raised its position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 0.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,370 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the period. Pflug Koory LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $1,582,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 74.6% in the 2nd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 5,167 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,253,000 after purchasing an additional 2,208 shares during the last quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Northrop Grumman by 4.1% in the second quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 767 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $334,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 104.6% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 246,581 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $107,260,000 after buying an additional 126,063 shares during the period. MBB Public Markets I LLC bought a new position in Northrop Grumman during the second quarter valued at $4,454,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake 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 valued at $474,276,000 after acquiring an additional 150,367 shares during the period. 83.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on NOC shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Northrop Grumman from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $595.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Susquehanna cut their target price on Northrop Grumman from $625.00 to $557.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Truist Financial started coverage on Northrop Grumman in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $544.00 target price for the company. Citigroup raised Northrop Grumman from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $587.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded Northrop Grumman to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $550.94.

Northrop Grumman Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:NOC opened at $497.13 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.80, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.35. The business’s 50-day moving average is $478.60 and its 200 day moving average is $495.39. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1 year low of $418.60 and a 1 year high of $555.57.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.07 by $0.93. The firm had revenue of $10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.18 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.79% and a return on equity of 26.57%. Northrop Grumman’s revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $6.18 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a dividend of $2.06 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.66%. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is currently 51.05%.

Northrop Grumman announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the aerospace company to purchase up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $286,183.41. The trade was a 68.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 1,255 shares of company stock valued at $663,859 over the last ninety days. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.