Empirical Finance LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Empirical Finance LLC cut its stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 1.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,918 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 58 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $2,308,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

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

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of Northrop Grumman stock opened at $468.75 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $67.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.54, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.35. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $476.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $499.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.91. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12 month low of $418.60 and a 12 month high of $555.57.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its 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 net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 26.24%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 27.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman announced that its board has approved a stock 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 reacquire up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Shareholders 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 1.76%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.08%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on NOC. Wolfe Research raised shares of Northrop Grumman from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. StockNews.com downgraded Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup upgraded Northrop Grumman from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $587.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Truist Financial initiated coverage on Northrop Grumman in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $544.00 target price for the company. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $544.31.

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.