Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Shares Sold by Lyell Wealth Management LP

Lyell Wealth Management LP decreased its position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 20.9% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 7,567 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 2,004 shares during the quarter. Lyell Wealth Management LP’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $3,551,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. increased its stake in Northrop Grumman by 19.9% in the fourth quarter. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. now owns 16,660 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $7,818,000 after purchasing an additional 2,770 shares during the last quarter. Trinity Street Asset Management LLP increased its stake in Northrop Grumman by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Trinity Street Asset Management LLP now owns 48,367 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $22,698,000 after purchasing an additional 1,786 shares during the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman in the third quarter valued at approximately $604,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Northrop Grumman by 2.6% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 212,514 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $112,222,000 after purchasing an additional 5,334 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AIA Group Ltd increased its stake in Northrop Grumman by 20.0% in the third quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 7,458 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $3,938,000 after purchasing an additional 1,242 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NOC opened at $441.00 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $473.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $498.62. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1-year low of $418.60 and a 1-year high of $555.57. The company has a market cap of $63.84 billion, a PE ratio of 15.56, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.35.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.27 by $0.12. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.24% and a net margin of 10.17%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman announced that its board has approved a share 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 buy up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.87%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.08%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price 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. Finally, Truist Financial assumed coverage on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $544.00 target price on the stock. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman currently 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.