Tidal Investments LLC Boosts Stock Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Tidal Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 41.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,403 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 1,593 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $2,853,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of NOC. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 2.6% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 212,514 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $112,222,000 after acquiring an additional 5,334 shares in the last quarter. AIA Group Ltd raised its position in Northrop Grumman by 20.0% in the 3rd quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 7,458 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $3,938,000 after purchasing an additional 1,242 shares during the period. Aviso Wealth Management lifted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 110.7% in the second quarter. Aviso Wealth Management now owns 1,896 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $827,000 after purchasing an additional 996 shares during the last quarter. Susquehanna International Securities Ltd. bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the second quarter worth $1,133,000. Finally, Meridian Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the third quarter valued at about $4,089,000. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of NOC opened at $480.00 on Monday. Northrop Grumman Co. has a one year low of $418.60 and a one year high of $555.57. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $506.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $488.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $69.93 billion, a PE ratio of 29.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.33.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.07 by $0.93. The company had revenue of $10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.18 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.57% and a net margin of 5.79%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $6.18 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the aerospace company to reacquire up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a $2.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.72%. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is 51.05%.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In other news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 537 shares in the company, valued at approximately $286,183.41. This trade represents a 68.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 1,255 shares of company stock valued at $666,461 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NOC has been the topic of several analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. TD Cowen raised Northrop Grumman to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $614.00 to $643.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Alembic Global Advisors lowered shares of Northrop Grumman from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $560.00 price target for the company. in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $553.27.

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.