Nilsine Partners LLC Purchases 97 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Nilsine Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 2.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,355 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 97 shares during the quarter. Nilsine Partners LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $2,044,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 8.5% during the fourth quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,603 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $752,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1,316.9% during the 4th quarter. Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI now owns 16,139 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $7,574,000 after purchasing an additional 15,000 shares during the last quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1,284.4% during the 4th quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,351 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $3,450,000 after purchasing an additional 6,820 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 43.7% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 14,727 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $6,911,000 after buying an additional 4,477 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,669 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,722,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE NOC opened at $503.09 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $73.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.17, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.35. Northrop Grumman Co. has a one year low of $418.60 and a one year high of $555.57. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $478.66 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $496.86. 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 declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the aerospace company to purchase up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were given a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is presently 51.05%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of Northrop Grumman 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 transaction, the vice president now 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders sold 1,255 shares of company stock valued at $663,859 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on NOC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. StockNews.com upgraded Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, January 19th. Barclays decreased their target price 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 dropped their price target on Northrop Grumman from $625.00 to $557.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Northrop Grumman from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $595.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $550.94.

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.