Pachira Investments Inc. Purchases 144 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Pachira Investments Inc. raised its position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 14.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,140 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 144 shares during the quarter. Pachira Investments Inc.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $532,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in NOC. Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 0.9% during the third quarter. Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 2,141 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,131,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Asset Dedication LLC raised its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.0% during the third quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 2,025 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,069,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,478 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $780,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. PBMares Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. PBMares Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,421 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,335,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Finally, Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 2,262 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,194,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NOC has been the subject of a number of research reports. Citigroup raised their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $558.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays lowered 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 report on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Truist Financial started coverage on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $544.56.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Northrop Grumman stock opened at $473.94 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $476.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $500.01. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12 month low of $418.60 and a 12 month high of $555.57. The company has a market cap of $68.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.72, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 27.94 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 1.74%. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is 29.08%.

Northrop Grumman announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the aerospace company to purchase up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.