SBI Securities Co. Ltd. Acquires New Stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 513 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $241,000.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 71.7% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 6,023 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,826,000 after acquiring an additional 2,515 shares during the period. Modera Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,974 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $3,742,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares during the period. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 810.6% during the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 856 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $402,000 after acquiring an additional 762 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 40.6% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,275 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $595,000 after acquiring an additional 368 shares during the period. Finally, Jacobi Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 1,987 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $933,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 2.3 %

Shares of NYSE:NOC opened at $474.71 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $469.50 and its 200 day moving average is $495.46. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1 year low of $418.60 and a 1 year high of $555.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $68.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.75, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.91.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 earnings per share (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%. On average, research analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a dividend of $2.06 per share. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.08%.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on NOC shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Northrop Grumman from $574.00 to $545.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Wolfe Research upgraded Northrop Grumman from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Argus upgraded Northrop Grumman to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. UBS Group lowered their target price on Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $558.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, StockNews.com cut Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $542.75.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In related news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 192 shares of the company’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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 709 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $304,217.72. This represents a 21.31 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders have sold 722 shares of company stock valued at $327,086 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

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.