Pathway Financial Advisers LLC Raises Stock Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Pathway Financial Advisers LLC grew its holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 2.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,382 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $1,587,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in NOC. Ritholtz Wealth Management increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 11.6% during the third quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 1,366 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $721,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its stake in Northrop Grumman by 18.0% during the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 1,736 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $917,000 after purchasing an additional 265 shares in the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 63.0% during the 3rd quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 194 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $102,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Creative Planning raised 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 purchasing an additional 3,017 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allen Mooney & Barnes Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter valued at about $214,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on NOC. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Truist Financial started coverage on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $544.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $558.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Susquehanna cut their price target 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $595.00 to $574.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $544.56.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NOC opened at $471.25 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The stock has a market cap of $68.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.63, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.35. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $476.15 and its 200 day moving average price is $499.78. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52 week low of $418.60 and a 52 week high of $555.57.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 27.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a $2.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.75%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.08%.

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.