Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Shares Bought by Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC

Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 4.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 757 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 29 shares during the period. Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $355,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,140,892 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,186,681,000 after acquiring an additional 17,596 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 0.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,003,360 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,581,644,000 after purchasing an additional 18,791 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in Northrop Grumman by 6.2% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,426,270 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,315,729,000 after purchasing an additional 141,816 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 16.0% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,087,913 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $474,276,000 after purchasing an additional 150,367 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 809,445 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $427,444,000 after buying an additional 3,211 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Northrop Grumman from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $595.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Truist Financial initiated coverage on Northrop Grumman in a research report on Tuesday. They set a “buy” rating and a $544.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $521.00 to $587.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $614.00 to $643.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $550.94.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

NYSE:NOC opened at $482.49 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. The company has a market capitalization of $70.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.35. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $481.48 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $493.38. Northrop Grumman Co. has a twelve month low of $418.60 and a twelve month high of $555.57.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.07 by $0.93. The firm 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%. Northrop Grumman’s revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $6.18 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were given a dividend of $2.06 per share. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.05%.

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

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In related news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the vice president now 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In the last quarter, insiders sold 1,255 shares of company stock valued at $663,859. 0.22% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.