HM Payson & Co. Grows Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

HM Payson & Co. grew its stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 7.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,057 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 206 shares during the period. HM Payson & Co.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $1,435,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 9.3% during the 3rd quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,026 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,070,000 after buying an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 166,434 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $87,889,000 after buying an additional 4,969 shares in the last quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 7.1% during the 3rd quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS now owns 2,099 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,108,000 after buying an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $974,000. Finally, TFB Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $202,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 192 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $429.08, for a total transaction of $82,383.36. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 709 shares in the company, valued at $304,217.72. This represents a 21.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.65, for a total transaction of $1,783,687.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 212,852 shares in the company, valued at $101,243,053.80. This trade represents a 1.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 4,505 shares of company stock worth $2,126,405. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Truist Financial assumed coverage on Northrop Grumman in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $544.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Northrop Grumman from $545.00 to $547.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. StockNews.com lowered Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $625.00 to $557.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $500.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $542.88.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 2.5 %

NYSE NOC opened at $487.22 on Friday. 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. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $469.88 and its 200-day simple moving average is $495.11. The firm has a market cap of $70.53 billion, a PE ratio of 17.19, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.31.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a $2.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.69%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.08%.

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.