EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC Raises Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 4.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 702 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $329,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in NOC. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Northrop Grumman by 0.4% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,140,892 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,186,681,000 after purchasing an additional 17,596 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,003,360 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,581,644,000 after buying an additional 18,791 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,426,270 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,315,729,000 after buying an additional 141,816 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 832,463 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $390,667,000 after acquiring an additional 23,018 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP lifted its position in Northrop Grumman by 102.6% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 735,600 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $388,448,000 after acquiring an additional 372,500 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

NOC opened at $486.10 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $471.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $494.37. 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 $70.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.15, a PEG ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.31. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1-year low of $418.60 and a 1-year high of $555.57.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 28.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the aerospace company to repurchase up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a $2.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.70%. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is 29.08%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In related news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 192 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $429.08, for a total transaction of $82,383.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 709 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $304,217.72. This trade represents a 21.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.65, for a total value of $1,783,687.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 212,852 shares in the company, valued at $101,243,053.80. This trade represents a 1.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 4,505 shares of company stock valued at $2,126,405 in the last three months. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on NOC. Barclays decreased their target price 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. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $545.00 to $547.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. UBS Group dropped their target price on Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $558.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com downgraded Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Truist Financial initiated coverage on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $544.00 price target on the stock. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $542.88.

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.