488 Shares in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Acquired by Sovran Advisors LLC

Sovran Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 488 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $232,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in NOC. Two Sigma Advisers LP lifted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 102.6% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 735,600 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $388,448,000 after buying an additional 372,500 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 6.2% in the 3rd 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. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter valued at about $66,171,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter valued at about $622,000. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI increased its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 154.7% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 157,601 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $83,224,000 after purchasing an additional 95,724 shares during the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Northrop Grumman Trading Down 3.6 %

Shares of NYSE NOC opened at $454.09 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $476.15 and its 200-day moving average price is $499.78. Northrop Grumman Co. has a fifty-two week low of $418.60 and a fifty-two week high of $555.57. 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 market cap of $65.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.02, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.35.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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, sell-side analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 27.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a $2.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.81%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.08%.

Northrop Grumman announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.00 billion in 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 a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays dropped their price target on Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $500.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Wolfe Research upgraded Northrop Grumman from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Susquehanna decreased their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $625.00 to $557.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Truist Financial initiated coverage on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $544.00 price objective for the company. Finally, UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $558.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $544.56.

Northrop Grumman 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.