Summit Global Investments Purchases 16,525 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Summit Global Investments boosted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 972.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 18,224 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 16,525 shares during the quarter. Summit Global Investments’ holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $8,552,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NOC. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI raised its stake in Northrop Grumman by 24.6% during the 3rd quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 6,980 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $3,686,000 after acquiring an additional 1,379 shares during the period. King Luther Capital Management Corp raised its stake in Northrop Grumman by 7.6% during the 3rd quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 1,229 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $649,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC raised its stake in Northrop Grumman by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 242,983 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $128,312,000 after acquiring an additional 9,353 shares during the period. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC raised its stake in Northrop Grumman by 0.3% during the 3rd 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 during the period. Finally, Integrated Investment Consultants LLC purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $273,000. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 0.6 %

NYSE NOC opened at $492.25 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The company has a fifty day moving average of $475.18 and a two-hundred day moving average of $493.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.37, a PEG ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.31. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52 week low of $418.60 and a 52 week high of $555.57.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 EPS for the quarter, topping 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, analysts predict 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 was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $2.06 per share. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.67%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is 29.08%.

Northrop Grumman announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the aerospace company to repurchase up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on NOC shares. Barclays cut 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 report on Monday, January 6th. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $558.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $545.00 to $547.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Truist Financial started coverage on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $544.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wolfe Research raised shares of Northrop Grumman from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $542.88.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.65, for a total transaction of $1,783,687.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 212,852 shares in the company, valued at approximately $101,243,053.80. This trade represents a 1.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 464 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.75, for a total value of $213,788.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 245 shares of the company’s stock, 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 sold 4,505 shares of company stock valued at $2,126,405 over the last three months. 0.22% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Northrop Grumman

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.