J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. Cuts Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. lessened its position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 1.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 4,211 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 46 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $1,976,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in NOC. Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 102.6% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 735,600 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $388,448,000 after purchasing an additional 372,500 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in 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 acquiring an additional 141,816 shares in the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter worth about $66,171,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $622,000. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 154.7% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 157,601 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $83,224,000 after buying an additional 95,724 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on NOC shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Northrop Grumman from $595.00 to $574.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. UBS Group decreased their price objective 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. StockNews.com downgraded Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded Northrop Grumman from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $544.56.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

NYSE:NOC opened at $438.70 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $474.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $499.39. 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 quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The company has a market cap of $63.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.48, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.35.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 earnings per share (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%. Analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 27.94 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a $2.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.88%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.08%.

Northrop Grumman declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase 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 a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.