Allworth Financial LP Cuts Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Allworth Financial LP lowered its position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 1.6% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 4,317 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 68 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $2,169,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Northrop Grumman by 0.4% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,140,892 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,186,681,000 after buying an additional 17,596 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,003,360 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,581,644,000 after acquiring an additional 18,791 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Northrop Grumman by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,426,270 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,315,729,000 after purchasing an additional 141,816 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 809,445 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $427,444,000 after purchasing an additional 3,211 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its position in Northrop Grumman by 102.6% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 735,600 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $388,448,000 after purchasing an additional 372,500 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

NOC opened at $441.00 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $474.14 and its 200 day moving average price is $499.00. Northrop Grumman Co. has a fifty-two week low of $418.60 and a fifty-two week high of $555.57. The firm has a market cap of $63.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.35.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 27.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the aerospace company to purchase up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a dividend of $2.06 per share. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.87%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.08%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.