Westside Investment Management Inc. Has $4.11 Million Holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Westside Investment Management Inc. cut its holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 11.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,760 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 1,157 shares during the quarter. Northrop Grumman makes up 0.9% of Westside Investment Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Westside Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $4,111,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in Northrop Grumman by 0.4% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,140,892 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,186,681,000 after purchasing an additional 17,596 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position 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 valued at $1,581,644,000 after purchasing an additional 18,791 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Northrop Grumman by 6.2% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,426,270 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,315,729,000 after purchasing an additional 141,816 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its position 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 purchasing an additional 150,367 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Northrop Grumman by 0.4% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 809,445 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $427,444,000 after purchasing an additional 3,211 shares during the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NOC has been the subject of several research reports. TD Cowen upgraded Northrop Grumman to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Barclays lowered their price objective on 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. Susquehanna lowered their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $625.00 to $557.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Citigroup upgraded Northrop Grumman from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $587.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $614.00 to $643.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $550.94.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 3.2 %

Shares of Northrop Grumman stock opened at $497.99 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.09. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52 week low of $418.60 and a 52 week high of $555.57. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $478.98 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $495.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $72.56 billion, a PE ratio of 31.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.35.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 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 firm had revenue of $10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.18 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $6.18 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a $2.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.65%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.05%.

Northrop Grumman declared 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 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the aerospace company to reacquire up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In related news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total transaction of $616,067.08. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders have sold a total of 1,255 shares of company stock valued at $663,859 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

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.