Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Shares Purchased by Amundi

Amundi lifted its holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 151.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 63,089 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 38,034 shares during the period. Amundi’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $29,160,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Permanent Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter worth approximately $238,000. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 21.1% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 557 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $261,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Intellectus Partners LLC lifted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 12.2% in the fourth quarter. Intellectus Partners LLC now owns 1,375 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $645,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. HM Payson & Co. lifted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 7.2% in the fourth quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 3,057 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,435,000 after acquiring an additional 206 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Machina Capital S.A.S. lifted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 198.7% in the fourth quarter. Machina Capital S.A.S. now owns 4,002 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,878,000 after acquiring an additional 2,662 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of NOC opened at $475.74 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $68.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.79, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.31. The company’s fifty day moving average is $471.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $494.70. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1 year low of $418.60 and a 1 year high of $555.57.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid 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 1.73%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.08%.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In other news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $475.65, for a total transaction of $1,783,687.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 212,852 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $101,243,053.80. This represents a 1.73 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 464 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.75, for a total transaction of $213,788.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 245 shares in the company, valued at approximately $112,883.75. This trade represents a 65.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 4,505 shares of company stock valued at $2,126,405 in the last ninety days. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on NOC. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $558.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $545.00 to $547.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Susquehanna reduced their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $625.00 to $557.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $542.88.

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.