Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Shares Bought by Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 814.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,464 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,320 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $4,911,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. PBMares Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. PBMares Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,421 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,335,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV increased its stake in Northrop Grumman by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 2,262 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,194,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.9% in the third quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 2,288 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,208,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.1% in the third quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 1,937 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,023,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.3% in the third quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 8,320 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $4,394,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on NOC shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $595.00 to $574.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup lifted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Barclays lowered 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. Truist Financial started coverage on Northrop Grumman in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $544.00 target price on the stock. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $558.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $544.56.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 2.4 %

NOC opened at $448.59 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $471.03 and a 200 day simple moving average of $497.58. The company has a market cap of $64.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.35. Northrop Grumman Co. has a fifty-two week low of $418.60 and a fifty-two week high of $555.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.91.

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

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a dividend of $2.06 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.84%. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is presently 29.08%.

Northrop Grumman announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the aerospace company to repurchase up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.