Sachetta LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Sachetta LLC lessened its holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 9.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 227 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 25 shares during the quarter. Sachetta LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $106,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 74.6% during the 2nd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 5,167 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,253,000 after buying an additional 2,208 shares during the period. Evergreen Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 4.1% during the second quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 767 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $334,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 104.6% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 246,581 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $107,260,000 after purchasing an additional 126,063 shares in the last quarter. MBB Public Markets I LLC purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the second quarter valued at $4,454,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 16.0% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,087,913 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $474,276,000 after purchasing an additional 150,367 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on NOC. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. TD Cowen raised shares of Northrop Grumman to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Truist Financial began coverage on Northrop Grumman in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $544.00 price target for the company. Citigroup raised Northrop Grumman from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $587.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Northrop Grumman from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $595.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $550.94.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

NOC stock opened at $497.13 on Friday. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1-year low of $418.60 and a 1-year high of $555.57. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. The firm has a market cap of $72.43 billion, a PE ratio of 30.80, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.35. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $478.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $495.39.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.07 by $0.93. The firm had revenue of $10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.18 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.79% and a return on equity of 26.57%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $6.18 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were given a dividend of $2.06 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.66%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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 shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the aerospace company to repurchase up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In other news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total transaction of $616,067.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 537 shares in the company, valued at approximately $286,183.41. The trade was a 68.28 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders sold 1,255 shares of company stock valued at $663,859 in the last ninety days. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.