Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $87.89 Million Stock Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 166,434 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,969 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $87,889,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in NOC. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in Northrop Grumman during the third quarter worth about $31,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 245.5% during the 2nd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 76 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman during the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the second quarter worth $47,000. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

NYSE:NOC opened at $469.54 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $501.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $489.08. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52-week low of $418.60 and a 52-week high of $555.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.09. The company has a market cap of $68.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.09, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.33.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.07 by $0.93. The company had revenue of $10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.18 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.57% and a net margin of 5.79%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $6.18 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued 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 1.75%. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is 51.05%.

Northrop Grumman declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the aerospace company to purchase up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NOC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Susquehanna boosted their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $560.00 to $625.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. StockNews.com downgraded Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, December 14th. Alembic Global Advisors cut Northrop Grumman from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $560.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $553.27.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total value of $616,067.08. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 537 shares in the company, valued at approximately $286,183.41. This represents a 68.28 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,255 shares of company stock valued at $666,461. 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.