Beaton Management Co. Inc. Decreases Stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Beaton Management Co. Inc. decreased its holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 1.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,736 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 50 shares during the quarter. Beaton Management Co. Inc.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $1,753,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of NOC. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.4% in the third quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,478 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $780,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. PBMares Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. PBMares Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,421 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,335,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its position in Northrop Grumman by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 2,262 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,194,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.9% during the third quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 2,288 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,208,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.1% during the third quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 1,937 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,023,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NOC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced 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. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $500.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $558.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Wolfe Research raised shares of Northrop Grumman from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $544.56.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

NYSE NOC opened at $438.70 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $474.95 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $499.39. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52 week low of $418.60 and a 52 week high of $555.57. The stock has a market cap of $63.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.35. 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 (NYSE:NOC) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 26.24% and a net margin of 10.17%. Analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 27.94 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman declared that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the aerospace company to buy up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were given a dividend of $2.06 per share. 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 29.08%.

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.