Hengehold Capital Management LLC Decreases Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Hengehold Capital Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 5.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 767 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 41 shares during the quarter. Hengehold Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $360,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. AE Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 19.6% in the second quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,778 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $775,000 after acquiring an additional 291 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 74.6% during the 2nd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 5,167 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,253,000 after buying an additional 2,208 shares in the last quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 4.1% in the second quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 767 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $334,000 after buying an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp boosted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 57.1% in the second quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 26,956 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $11,751,000 after acquiring an additional 9,799 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 104.6% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 246,581 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $107,260,000 after acquiring an additional 126,063 shares during the period. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total value of $616,067.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $286,183.41. The trade was a 68.28 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders sold 1,255 shares of company stock valued at $663,859 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE NOC opened at $499.56 on Friday. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1 year low of $418.60 and a 1 year high of $555.57. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $478.61 and a 200 day moving average of $495.36. The stock has a market cap of $72.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.97.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.07 by $0.93. The firm had revenue of $10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.18 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.57% and a net margin of 5.79%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $6.18 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman announced that its board has approved a stock buyback 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a $2.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.65%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.05%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NOC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Northrop Grumman from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $595.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Citigroup raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $587.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $614.00 to $643.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $550.94.

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.