Homestead Advisers Corp Acquires 6,700 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Homestead Advisers Corp grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 3.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 184,672 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,700 shares during the period. Northrop Grumman comprises approximately 2.1% of Homestead Advisers Corp’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Homestead Advisers Corp owned about 0.13% of Northrop Grumman worth $86,665,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. grew its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 19.9% during the fourth quarter. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. now owns 16,660 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $7,818,000 after buying an additional 2,770 shares in the last quarter. Trinity Street Asset Management LLP boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Trinity Street Asset Management LLP now owns 48,367 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $22,698,000 after acquiring an additional 1,786 shares during the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter worth $604,000. Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI raised its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1,316.9% in the fourth quarter. Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI now owns 16,139 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $7,574,000 after purchasing an additional 15,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 74.4% during the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 156,149 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $73,279,000 after purchasing an additional 66,638 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NOC opened at $506.26 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $476.94 and a 200-day moving average of $492.97. The stock has a market cap of $73.28 billion, a PE ratio of 17.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.01. Northrop Grumman Co. has a fifty-two week low of $418.60 and a fifty-two week high of $555.57.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its quarterly 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 return on equity of 26.24% and a net margin of 10.17%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman declared that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the aerospace company to reacquire up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a dividend of $2.06 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.63%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.08%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 192 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $429.08, for a total value of $82,383.36. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 709 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $304,217.72. This trade represents a 21.31 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.65, for a total value of $1,783,687.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 212,852 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $101,243,053.80. The trade was a 1.73 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 4,505 shares of company stock worth $2,126,405. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NOC has been the subject of several analyst reports. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Truist Financial began coverage on Northrop Grumman in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $544.00 price target for the company. Barclays dropped their price target on Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $500.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Wolfe Research raised Northrop Grumman from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $542.88.

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.