Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Shares Sold by Csenge Advisory Group

Csenge Advisory Group trimmed its position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 5.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,877 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 113 shares during the quarter. Csenge Advisory Group’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $881,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,140,892 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,186,681,000 after acquiring an additional 17,596 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,003,360 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,581,644,000 after acquiring an additional 18,791 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased 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 worth $1,315,729,000 after buying an additional 141,816 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Northrop Grumman by 0.4% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 809,445 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $427,444,000 after buying an additional 3,211 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its position in Northrop Grumman by 102.6% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 735,600 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $388,448,000 after buying an additional 372,500 shares during the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

NYSE NOC opened at $438.70 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $63.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.48, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a 50 day moving average of $474.95 and a 200-day moving average of $499.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1-year low of $418.60 and a 1-year high of $555.57.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 earnings per share 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, equities analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 27.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

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

Northrop Grumman announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the aerospace company to buy up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NOC has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $595.00 to $574.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Truist Financial assumed coverage on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $544.00 target price for the company. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Susquehanna reduced their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $625.00 to $557.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $544.56.

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.