Fmr LLC Has $1.32 Billion Stock Holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Fmr LLC increased its stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 4.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,807,223 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 109,308 shares during the period. Fmr LLC owned approximately 1.94% of Northrop Grumman worth $1,317,402,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 111.4% in the 3rd quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 9,419 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $4,974,000 after buying an additional 4,964 shares in the last quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Northrop Grumman by 26.3% during the third quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,732 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $914,000 after purchasing an additional 361 shares in the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 6.0% during the third quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 19,433 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $10,262,000 after purchasing an additional 1,095 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 154.7% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Finally, MML Investors Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 8.6% in the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 27,859 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $14,712,000 after purchasing an additional 2,210 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

NYSE:NOC opened at $486.23 on Monday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $479.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $492.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.01. Northrop Grumman Co. has a fifty-two week low of $418.60 and a fifty-two week high of $555.57. The company has a market capitalization of $70.38 billion, a PE ratio of 17.16, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.20.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.27 by $0.12. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 26.24%. Research analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the aerospace company to buy up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $2.06 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.69%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.08%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 212,852 shares in the company, valued at approximately $101,243,053.80. This represents a 1.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 192 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the vice president now owns 709 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $304,217.72. This represents a 21.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 4,472 shares of company stock worth $2,111,332. 0.22% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on NOC. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $625.00 to $557.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $500.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $545.06.

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.