Synovus Financial Corp Buys 618 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Synovus Financial Corp increased its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 28.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,814 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 618 shares during the quarter. Synovus Financial Corp’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $1,485,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of NOC. Western Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 12.6% during the second quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,048 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $457,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,804 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,530,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Dakota Wealth Management lifted its position in Northrop Grumman by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 9,752 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $4,251,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares during the period. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 2nd quarter valued at about $114,000. Finally, Summit Global Investments acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $805,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total value of $616,067.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 537 shares in the company, valued at $286,183.41. This trade represents a 68.28 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders have sold 1,255 shares of company stock worth $666,461 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $521.00 to $587.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Barclays raised their price target on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. TD Cowen upgraded Northrop Grumman to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. StockNews.com cut Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, Alembic Global Advisors lowered Northrop Grumman from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $560.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $553.27.

Northrop Grumman Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NOC stock opened at $480.00 on Monday. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12-month low of $418.60 and a 12-month high of $555.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $506.77 and a 200-day moving average of $488.49. The company has a market capitalization of $69.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.74, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.33.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.07 by $0.93. The firm had revenue of $10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.18 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.57% and a net margin of 5.79%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $6.18 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman declared that its board has authorized a stock 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 generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a dividend of $2.06 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.72%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.05%.

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.