Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Purchases 23,018 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 2.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 832,463 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 23,018 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 0.58% of Northrop Grumman worth $390,667,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. lifted its position in Northrop Grumman by 19.9% in the 4th quarter. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. now owns 16,660 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $7,818,000 after acquiring an additional 2,770 shares in the last quarter. Trinity Street Asset Management LLP raised its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Trinity Street Asset Management LLP now owns 48,367 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $22,698,000 after purchasing an additional 1,786 shares during the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the third quarter valued at approximately $604,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 2.6% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 212,514 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $112,222,000 after buying an additional 5,334 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AIA Group Ltd grew its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 20.0% during the third quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 7,458 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $3,938,000 after buying an additional 1,242 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on NOC. Citigroup raised their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $558.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Northrop Grumman from $574.00 to $545.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $542.75.

Insider Activity

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 192 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $429.08, for a total value of $82,383.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 709 shares in the company, valued at $304,217.72. This trade represents a 21.31 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Over the last three months, insiders sold 722 shares of company stock worth $327,086. 0.22% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 2.3 %

Shares of Northrop Grumman stock opened at $474.71 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $68.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.75, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.35. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52-week low of $418.60 and a 52-week high of $555.57. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $469.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $495.46.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.74%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is currently 29.08%.

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

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.