Yousif Capital Management LLC Has $6.49 Million Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Yousif Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 9.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 13,838 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 1,245 shares during the quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $6,494,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 102.6% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 735,600 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $388,448,000 after acquiring an additional 372,500 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Northrop Grumman by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,426,270 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,315,729,000 after purchasing an additional 141,816 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter valued at about $66,171,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter worth approximately $622,000. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI raised its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 154.7% during the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 157,601 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $83,224,000 after buying an additional 95,724 shares during the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on NOC shares. Wolfe Research raised shares of Northrop Grumman from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Monday. Barclays decreased their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $500.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Susquehanna reduced their target price on Northrop Grumman from $625.00 to $557.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. StockNews.com cut Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Truist Financial began coverage on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $544.00 price objective on the stock. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $544.31.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of Northrop Grumman stock opened at $466.29 on Friday. 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 firm has a market cap of $67.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.35. Northrop Grumman Co. has a one year low of $418.60 and a one year high of $555.57. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $477.78 and its 200-day moving average is $499.22.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. Equities analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were given a dividend of $2.06 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.77%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.08%.

Northrop Grumman announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the aerospace company to reacquire up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total transaction of $616,067.08. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 537 shares in the company, valued at approximately $286,183.41. This represents a 68.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 1,255 shares of company stock valued at $662,868 in the last three months. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.