Baring Financial LLC Purchases Shares of 612 Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Baring Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 612 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $287,000.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 23.6% in the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 10,832 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $4,722,000 after buying an additional 2,066 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 5.9% in the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 16,093 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $7,019,000 after acquiring an additional 898 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP lifted its position in Northrop Grumman by 1,546.2% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 214 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $93,000 after acquiring an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky boosted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 87.8% during the 2nd quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 21,802 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $9,505,000 after purchasing an additional 10,192 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New Century Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 57.4% during the 2nd quarter. New Century Financial Group LLC now owns 867 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $378,000 after purchasing an additional 316 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NOC has been the topic of several analyst reports. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $614.00 to $643.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. StockNews.com upgraded Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Sunday, January 19th. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $625.00 to $557.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, TD Cowen raised Northrop Grumman to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $550.94.

Northrop Grumman Trading Down 1.0 %

NYSE:NOC opened at $481.56 on Thursday. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12 month low of $418.60 and a 12 month high of $555.57. 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 50-day moving average price of $478.87 and a 200-day moving average price of $497.74. The stock has a market cap of $70.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.84, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.35.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

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

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

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total transaction of $616,067.08. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $286,183.41. This represents a 68.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,255 shares of company stock worth $663,859. 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.