ARS Investment Partners LLC Purchases 700 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

ARS Investment Partners LLC grew its position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 3.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 21,667 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 700 shares during the quarter. ARS Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $10,168,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the third quarter worth $604,000. Trinity Street Asset Management LLP lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Trinity Street Asset Management LLP now owns 48,367 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $22,698,000 after buying an additional 1,786 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted 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 buying an additional 5,334 shares in the last quarter. AIA Group Ltd grew its position 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 acquiring an additional 1,242 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aviso Wealth Management raised its stake in Northrop Grumman by 110.7% during the second quarter. Aviso Wealth Management now owns 1,896 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $827,000 after acquiring an additional 996 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total value of $616,067.08. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $286,183.41. This trade represents 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. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 1,255 shares of company stock valued at $663,859. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NOC has been the topic of several research reports. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $500.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com upgraded Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Sunday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. TD Cowen raised Northrop Grumman to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $521.00 to $587.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $550.94.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of NOC stock opened at $482.49 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $70.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.89, a PEG ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.35. Northrop Grumman Co. has a fifty-two week low of $418.60 and a fifty-two week high of $555.57. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $480.55 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $494.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.09.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.07 by $0.93. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.79% and a return on equity of 26.57%. The business had revenue of $10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.18 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $6.18 earnings per share. Northrop Grumman’s revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the aerospace company to purchase up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a $2.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.71%. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is currently 51.05%.

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.