Aljian Capital Management LLC Acquires 1,883 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Aljian Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 23.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,896 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,883 shares during the period. Northrop Grumman comprises approximately 1.0% of Aljian Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Aljian Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $4,644,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Ritholtz Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 11.6% in the third quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 1,366 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $721,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 18.0% in the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 1,736 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $917,000 after acquiring an additional 265 shares during the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. increased its position in Northrop Grumman by 63.0% during the 3rd quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 194 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $102,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Creative Planning raised its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 7.6% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 42,571 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $22,481,000 after purchasing an additional 3,017 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allen Mooney & Barnes Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Northrop Grumman during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $214,000. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of Northrop Grumman stock opened at $471.25 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $68.22 billion, a PE ratio of 16.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.35. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $476.15 and a 200-day moving average price of $499.78. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52 week low of $418.60 and a 52 week high of $555.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.27 by $0.12. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 26.24%. Equities analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 27.94 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.75%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.08%.

Northrop Grumman declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the aerospace company to repurchase up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on NOC. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $500.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $595.00 to $574.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised Northrop Grumman from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $544.56.

Northrop Grumman 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.