First Merchants Corp Cuts Stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

First Merchants Corp lessened its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 15.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,045 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 186 shares during the period. First Merchants Corp’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $490,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.4% in 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 purchasing an additional 17,596 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Northrop Grumman by 0.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,003,360 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,581,644,000 after buying an additional 18,791 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in Northrop Grumman by 6.2% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,426,270 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,315,729,000 after buying an additional 141,816 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.4% during the 3rd 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 lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 102.6% during the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on NOC. Susquehanna lowered their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $625.00 to $557.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $595.00 to $574.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. 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, 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 research report on Friday, January 31st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $544.56.

Northrop Grumman Trading Down 3.6 %

Shares of NOC opened at $438.70 on Friday. 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 Co. has a 1-year low of $418.60 and a 1-year high of $555.57. The company has a market capitalization of $63.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.48, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.35. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $475.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is $499.46.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 27.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were given a dividend of $2.06 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.88%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.08%.

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

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.