AHL Investment Management Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

AHL Investment Management Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 0.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 8,912 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 64 shares during the period. Northrop Grumman makes up approximately 2.9% of AHL Investment Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. AHL Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $4,182,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 24.3% in the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,387 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,041,000 after purchasing an additional 467 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 2.9% in the second quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,071 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $467,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 4.5% during the 2nd quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 2,206 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $961,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 19.6% in the 2nd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,778 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $775,000 after purchasing an additional 291 shares during the period. Finally, Summit Trail Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 9.8% in the 2nd quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 895 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $390,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total value of $616,067.08. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $286,183.41. This represents a 68.28 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 1,255 shares of company stock valued at $663,859 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Susquehanna cut 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. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $521.00 to $587.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $614.00 to $643.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $500.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, TD Cowen raised Northrop Grumman to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $550.94.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of NOC opened at $482.49 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 firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $480.55 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $494.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.35.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.07 by $0.93. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.57% and a net margin of 5.79%. The business had revenue of $10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.18 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $6.18 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.93 EPS for the current year.

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

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

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

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.