Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Sells 12,340 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC reduced its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 10.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 102,609 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 12,340 shares during the quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC owned 0.07% of Northrop Grumman worth $48,022,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of NOC. Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 102.6% during the third 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. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 6.2% during 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 buying an additional 141,816 shares during the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter valued at about $66,171,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter valued at about $622,000. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 154.7% during the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 157,601 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $83,224,000 after buying an additional 95,724 shares during the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Truist Financial assumed coverage on Northrop Grumman in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $544.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup raised their target price on Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Wolfe Research raised Northrop Grumman from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays cut their target price on Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $500.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $544.56.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

NOC stock opened at $454.09 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $476.15 and a 200-day moving average price of $499.78. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52-week low of $418.60 and a 52-week high of $555.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $65.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.02, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.01.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.27 by $0.12. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 26.24%. Equities research analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 27.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman declared that its board has initiated 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 purchase up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.81%. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is 29.08%.

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.