Pallas Capital Advisors LLC cut its stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC – Free Report) by 33.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 659 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 338 shares during the quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $309,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its position in Northrop Grumman by 102.6% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 735,600 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $388,448,000 after purchasing an additional 372,500 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $74,206,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 113.6% in the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 296,844 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $129,409,000 after buying an additional 157,854 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 16.0% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,087,913 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $474,276,000 after buying an additional 150,367 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,426,270 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,315,729,000 after buying an additional 141,816 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
NOC has been the subject of several analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Northrop Grumman from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $595.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. TD Cowen raised shares of Northrop Grumman to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Truist Financial initiated coverage on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Tuesday. They set a “buy” rating and a $544.00 price target for the company. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $521.00 to $587.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $550.94.
Northrop Grumman Stock Down 0.7 %
Northrop Grumman stock opened at $472.19 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $68.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.26, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. Northrop Grumman Co. has a twelve month low of $418.60 and a twelve month high of $555.57. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $483.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $493.62.
Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.07 by $0.93. The company 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%. Northrop Grumman’s revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $6.18 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a dividend of $2.06 per share. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.05%.
Northrop Grumman declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the aerospace company to repurchase up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.
Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman
In related news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total transaction of $616,067.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 537 shares in the company, valued at approximately $286,183.41. The trade was a 68.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In the last three months, insiders have sold 1,255 shares of company stock valued at $663,859. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.
Northrop Grumman 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.
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