Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Shares Bought by Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB

Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 2.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,619 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 53 shares during the quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $1,229,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,140,892 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,186,681,000 after acquiring an additional 17,596 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,003,360 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,581,644,000 after purchasing an additional 18,791 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 6.2% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,426,270 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,315,729,000 after purchasing an additional 141,816 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 0.4% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 809,445 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $427,444,000 after buying an additional 3,211 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its stake in Northrop Grumman by 102.6% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 735,600 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $388,448,000 after buying an additional 372,500 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on NOC. Barclays cut 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. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $595.00 to $574.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Susquehanna lowered their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $625.00 to $557.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $544.31.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

NOC opened at $468.75 on Monday. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1-year low of $418.60 and a 1-year high of $555.57. The stock has a market cap of $67.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.54, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.35. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $476.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $499.60. 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 quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.27 by $0.12. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.24% and a net margin of 10.17%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 27.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman announced that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the aerospace company to buy up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.76%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.08%.

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.