Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Grows Stock Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 9.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 59,376 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,162 shares during the quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $27,865,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. FourThought Financial Partners LLC raised its stake in Northrop Grumman by 21.4% in the fourth quarter. FourThought Financial Partners LLC now owns 22,749 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $10,676,000 after buying an additional 4,017 shares during the last quarter. Blackhawk Capital Partners LLC. raised its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Blackhawk Capital Partners LLC. now owns 1,808 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $848,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc raised its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 77.1% in the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 5,362 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,517,000 after purchasing an additional 2,335 shares during the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd raised its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 814.7% in the fourth quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 10,464 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $4,911,000 after purchasing an additional 9,320 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BCGM Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. BCGM Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,492 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $3,046,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on NOC shares. Wolfe Research upgraded Northrop Grumman from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Truist Financial started coverage on Northrop Grumman in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $544.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com lowered Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group dropped their target price on Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $558.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Susquehanna dropped their target price on Northrop Grumman from $625.00 to $557.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $544.56.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

NYSE:NOC opened at $461.03 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.01. The company has a fifty day moving average of $469.99 and a two-hundred day moving average of $497.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $66.74 billion, a PE ratio of 16.27, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.35. Northrop Grumman Co. has a fifty-two week low of $418.60 and a fifty-two week high of $555.57.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.27 by $0.12. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 26.24%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

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

Northrop Grumman announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the aerospace company to repurchase up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 192 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $429.08, for a total value of $82,383.36. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 709 shares in the company, valued at $304,217.72. This represents a 21.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 291 shares of company stock worth $129,184. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

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.