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

Csenge Advisory Group decreased its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 5.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,877 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 113 shares during the period. Csenge Advisory Group’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $881,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of NOC. 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 in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 6.2% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,426,270 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,315,729,000 after purchasing an additional 141,816 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter valued at $66,171,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter valued at $622,000. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI grew its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 154.7% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 157,601 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $83,224,000 after purchasing an additional 95,724 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Trading Down 3.6 %

Shares of NOC opened at $438.70 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $474.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $499.39. The stock has a market cap of $63.51 billion, a PE ratio of 15.48, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.35. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12 month low of $418.60 and a 12 month high of $555.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.91.

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

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a 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 stock buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the aerospace company to repurchase up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on NOC. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $595.00 to $574.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com downgraded Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Truist Financial assumed coverage on Northrop Grumman in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $544.00 target price on the stock. Wolfe Research upgraded Northrop Grumman from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $544.56.

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.