Harbour Investments Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Harbour Investments Inc. raised its stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 1.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,237 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. Harbour Investments Inc.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $1,050,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. grew its stake in Northrop Grumman by 19.9% in the fourth quarter. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. now owns 16,660 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $7,818,000 after purchasing an additional 2,770 shares during the last quarter. Trinity Street Asset Management LLP boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Trinity Street Asset Management LLP now owns 48,367 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $22,698,000 after acquiring an additional 1,786 shares in the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the third quarter worth about $604,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 2.6% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 212,514 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $112,222,000 after acquiring an additional 5,334 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 1,316.9% in the fourth quarter. Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI now owns 16,139 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $7,574,000 after acquiring an additional 15,000 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:NOC opened at $489.64 on Wednesday. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12-month low of $418.60 and a 12-month high of $555.57. The company has a market capitalization of $70.88 billion, a PE ratio of 17.28, a PEG ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.31. The business has a 50 day moving average of $473.40 and a two-hundred day moving average of $493.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 earnings per share (EPS) 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, analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 EPS for the current year.

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

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.68%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.08%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.65, for a total value of $1,783,687.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 212,852 shares in the company, valued at $101,243,053.80. The trade was a 1.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 464 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.75, for a total value of $213,788.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 245 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $112,883.75. This trade represents a 65.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 4,505 shares of company stock worth $2,126,405 over the last three months. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on NOC. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Northrop Grumman from $545.00 to $547.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Argus raised Northrop Grumman to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Barclays lowered their price target on Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $500.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Susquehanna lowered their price target on Northrop Grumman from $625.00 to $557.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised Northrop Grumman from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $542.88.

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.