Pure Financial Advisors LLC Raises Stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Pure Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 11.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 4,404 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 469 shares during the quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $2,067,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,140,892 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,186,681,000 after buying an additional 17,596 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 0.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,003,360 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,581,644,000 after acquiring an additional 18,791 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 6.2% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,426,270 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,315,729,000 after acquiring an additional 141,816 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 16.0% during 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 acquiring an additional 150,367 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 809,445 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $427,444,000 after purchasing an additional 3,211 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity 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 stock was sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total value of $616,067.08. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $286,183.41. The trade was a 68.28 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,255 shares of company stock worth $663,859. 0.22% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

NYSE NOC opened at $482.49 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.09. The business’s fifty day moving average is $480.55 and its 200 day moving average is $494.51. The company has a market capitalization of $70.30 billion, a PE ratio of 29.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.35. Northrop Grumman Co. has a fifty-two week low of $418.60 and a fifty-two week high of $555.57.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.18 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $6.18 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes 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 board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on NOC shares. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $500.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Northrop Grumman from $521.00 to $587.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Northrop Grumman from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $595.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $614.00 to $643.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $550.94.

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.