Wintrust Investments LLC Increases Stock Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Wintrust Investments LLC raised its holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 42.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 111 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the period. Wintrust Investments LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $52,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 19.9% in the fourth quarter. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. now owns 16,660 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $7,818,000 after purchasing an additional 2,770 shares in the last quarter. Trinity Street Asset Management LLP lifted its holdings 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 valued at $22,698,000 after purchasing an additional 1,786 shares in the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the third quarter valued at about $604,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 2.6% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 212,514 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $112,222,000 after purchasing an additional 5,334 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI lifted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1,316.9% in the fourth quarter. Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI now owns 16,139 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $7,574,000 after purchasing an additional 15,000 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Northrop Grumman stock opened at $491.20 on Friday. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52-week low of $418.60 and a 52-week high of $555.57. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $471.57 and a 200-day moving average of $494.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.33, a PEG ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 26.24%. As a group, analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the aerospace company to repurchase up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a $2.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.68%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.08%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 192 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were 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 directly owns 709 shares in the company, valued at approximately $304,217.72. This represents a 21.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $475.65, for a total transaction of $1,783,687.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 212,852 shares of the company’s stock, 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. Over the last three months, insiders sold 4,505 shares of company stock worth $2,126,405. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $625.00 to $557.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $545.00 to $547.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Argus raised shares of Northrop Grumman to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Truist Financial assumed coverage on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $544.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, 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. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $542.88.

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.