Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Grows Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd raised its position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 1.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 16,847 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 245 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $7,906,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Atomi Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 27.5% during the third quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 867 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $458,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management lifted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 2,876 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,519,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 13.4% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 6,763 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $3,571,000 after acquiring an additional 797 shares in the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital increased its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 1,063 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $568,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 17.3% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 700 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $370,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

NYSE:NOC opened at $468.75 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The firm has a market cap of $67.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.35. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $477.33 and its 200 day moving average price is $498.99. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1-year low of $418.60 and a 1-year high of $555.57.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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, sell-side analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.04 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share 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 reacquire up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a dividend of $2.06 per share. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.08%.

Insider Activity

In other Northrop Grumman 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 537 shares in the company, valued at approximately $286,183.41. This represents a 68.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction 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 $662,868 in the last three months. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on NOC shares. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Susquehanna dropped their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $625.00 to $557.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target 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. Barclays dropped their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $500.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $544.31.

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.