Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Shares Bought by VELA Investment Management LLC

VELA Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 1.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 6,403 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the period. Northrop Grumman accounts for about 0.8% of VELA Investment Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position. VELA Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $3,005,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 0.9% during the third quarter. Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 2,262 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,194,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 2,288 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,208,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 8,320 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $4,394,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Sapient Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Sapient Capital LLC now owns 2,049 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $962,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the period. Finally, Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG increased its stake in Northrop Grumman by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 1,006 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $472,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Barclays decreased their target price on Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $500.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Truist Financial initiated coverage on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $544.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Susquehanna dropped their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $625.00 to $557.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $542.75.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 192 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $429.08, for a total transaction of $82,383.36. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 709 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $304,217.72. The trade was a 21.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 291 shares of company stock worth $129,184 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:NOC opened at $459.90 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The firm has a market cap of $66.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.23, a PEG ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.35. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $469.59 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $496.50. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12-month low of $418.60 and a 12-month high of $555.57.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its 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 net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 26.24%. On average, research analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a dividend of $2.06 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.79%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.08%.

Northrop Grumman announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the aerospace company to buy up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.