GAMMA Investing LLC Lowers Stock Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

GAMMA Investing LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 2.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,733 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 56 shares during the quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $1,283,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Northrop Grumman by 3.1% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 166,434 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $87,889,000 after purchasing an additional 4,969 shares in the last quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 13.7% during the third quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 330,647 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $174,605,000 after buying an additional 39,780 shares during the last quarter. Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter valued at about $224,000. Copley Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $479,000. Finally, American Trust lifted its position in Northrop Grumman by 37.6% during the third quarter. American Trust now owns 1,534 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $810,000 after acquiring an additional 419 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on NOC. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Susquehanna raised their price target on Northrop Grumman from $560.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $614.00 to $643.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $553.27.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

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 value of $616,067.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 537 shares in the company, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 1,255 shares of company stock worth $666,461 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

NYSE:NOC opened at $467.82 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $490.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $490.95. The firm has a market cap of $68.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.99, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.09. Northrop Grumman Co. has a one year low of $418.60 and a one year high of $555.57.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.07 by $0.93. The firm had revenue of $10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.18 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.57% and a net margin of 5.79%. The company’s revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $6.18 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.93 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a dividend of $2.06 per share. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.76%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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 repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the aerospace company to repurchase up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.