Allen Capital Group LLC Boosts Stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Allen Capital Group LLC increased its position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 5.8% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,053 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 58 shares during the period. Allen Capital Group LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $494,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Valicenti Advisory Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Valicenti Advisory Services Inc. now owns 9,808 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $4,603,000 after purchasing an additional 471 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC increased its position in Northrop Grumman by 15.9% in the 4th quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC now owns 750 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $352,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the period. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its position in Northrop Grumman by 14.4% in the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 11,714 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $5,497,000 after acquiring an additional 1,472 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its position in Northrop Grumman by 14.3% in the 4th quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 104,606 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $49,091,000 after acquiring an additional 13,118 shares during the period. Finally, R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter valued at about $202,000. 83.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the stock in a transaction 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. This represents a 68.28 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,255 shares of company stock valued at $663,859. 0.22% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on NOC. Truist Financial began coverage on Northrop Grumman in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $544.00 price target on the stock. Barclays dropped their price target on Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $500.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Citigroup upgraded Northrop Grumman from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $587.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Northrop Grumman from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $595.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Susquehanna dropped their target price 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. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $550.94.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

NOC stock opened at $481.56 on Thursday. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1 year low of $418.60 and a 1 year high of $555.57. 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 stock’s 50 day moving average price is $478.87 and its 200 day moving average price is $497.74. The firm has a market cap of $70.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.84, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.35.

Northrop Grumman declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the aerospace company to buy up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. Northrop Grumman’s 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.