SYM FINANCIAL Corp Boosts Holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

SYM FINANCIAL Corp increased its stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 13.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 663 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $311,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.4% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,140,892 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,186,681,000 after acquiring an additional 17,596 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 6.2% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,426,270 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,315,729,000 after acquiring an additional 141,816 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Northrop Grumman by 0.4% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 809,445 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $427,444,000 after acquiring an additional 3,211 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 102.6% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 735,600 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $388,448,000 after acquiring an additional 372,500 shares during the period. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $286,183.41. This represents a 68.28 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,255 shares of company stock worth $663,859. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on NOC. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $595.00 to $574.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. UBS Group dropped their price target on Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $558.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. StockNews.com raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, January 19th. Finally, Susquehanna cut their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $625.00 to $557.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $544.31.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 0.7 %

NOC opened at $486.97 on Monday. 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 business’s 50-day moving average price is $478.20 and its 200-day moving average price is $498.35. The company has a market cap of $70.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.17, a P/E/G ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.35.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.27 by $0.12. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.57% and a net margin of 5.79%. On average, equities analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.96 EPS for the current year.

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 shares. This buyback authorization allows the aerospace company to buy up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a dividend of $2.06 per share. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.69%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.05%.

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.