Essex Savings Bank Increases Stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Essex Savings Bank increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 5.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 819 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 43 shares during the period. Essex Savings Bank’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $384,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its holdings 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 worth $388,448,000 after acquiring an additional 372,500 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 2nd quarter worth $74,206,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 113.6% in the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 296,844 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $129,409,000 after buying an additional 157,854 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake in Northrop Grumman by 16.0% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,087,913 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $474,276,000 after buying an additional 150,367 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 6.2% during 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 last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NOC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Susquehanna cut their price target 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. Citigroup raised their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $521.00 to $587.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Barclays reduced their target price on Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $500.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Truist Financial initiated coverage on Northrop Grumman in a research note on Tuesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $544.00 price objective for the company. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $550.94.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

NOC opened at $472.19 on Thursday. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1-year low of $418.60 and a 1-year high of $555.57. The stock has a market cap of $68.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.26, a P/E/G ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.35. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $483.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $493.62. 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 posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.07 by $0.93. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.57% and a net margin of 5.79%. The company had revenue of $10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.18 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $6.18 earnings per share. Northrop Grumman’s revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a dividend of $2.06 per share. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.75%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.05%.

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

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In related news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 537 shares in the company, valued at approximately $286,183.41. The trade was a 68.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders have sold 1,255 shares of company stock worth $663,859 over the last quarter. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.