ARS Investment Partners LLC Has $10.17 Million Stock Holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

ARS Investment Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 3.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 21,667 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 700 shares during the period. ARS Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $10,168,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 4.5% during the 2nd quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 2,206 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $961,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 19.6% in the 2nd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,778 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $775,000 after acquiring an additional 291 shares in the last quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 9.8% during the 2nd quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 895 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $390,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its position in Northrop Grumman by 29.5% in the 2nd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 23,230 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $10,127,000 after buying an additional 5,285 shares during the period. Finally, Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 12,673.3% during the second quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 1,916 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $835,000 after buying an additional 1,901 shares during the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total value of $616,067.08. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $286,183.41. The trade was a 68.28 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders sold 1,255 shares of company stock worth $663,859 in the last ninety days. 0.22% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 0.3 %

NOC stock opened at $482.49 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $70.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $480.55 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $494.51. Northrop Grumman Co. has a one year low of $418.60 and a one year high of $555.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.97.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.07 by $0.93. The business had revenue of $10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.18 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.79% and a return on equity of 26.57%. Northrop Grumman’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $6.18 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.95 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the aerospace company to reacquire up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a dividend of $2.06 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.71%. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is currently 51.05%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on NOC. TD Cowen raised Northrop Grumman to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Northrop Grumman from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $595.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $521.00 to $587.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Northrop Grumman from $614.00 to $643.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $550.94.

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.