600 Shares in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Bought by SkyOak Wealth LLC

SkyOak Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund acquired 600 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $282,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in NOC. Trinity Street Asset Management LLP raised its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Trinity Street Asset Management LLP now owns 48,367 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $22,698,000 after purchasing an additional 1,786 shares in the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $604,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 212,514 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $112,222,000 after buying an additional 5,334 shares in the last quarter. AIA Group Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 20.0% in the 3rd quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 7,458 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $3,938,000 after buying an additional 1,242 shares during the period. Finally, Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI boosted its stake 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 buying an additional 15,000 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NOC opened at $486.97 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $70.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.18, a P/E/G ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.35. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $478.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $498.35. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52 week low of $418.60 and a 52 week high of $555.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 EPS 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 forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.04 EPS for the current year.

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

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a dividend of $2.06 per share. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.08%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In other news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 537 shares in the company, valued at $286,183.41. This trade represents a 68.28 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 1,255 shares of company stock worth $663,859 in the last quarter. 0.22% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NOC has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup raised Northrop Grumman from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $587.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $500.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Susquehanna decreased 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, Truist Financial started coverage on Northrop Grumman in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $544.00 price objective for the company. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $544.31.

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.